Heavy rain has been raging since Friday afternoon in the south Germany. A firefighter is dead, a train derails in the city of Schwebis Gmund. The “floods of the century” in the German state of Bavaria, as well as that of Baden-Württemberg, are discussed by Spiegel Online and the news network n-tv. Heavy rains and storms have been occurring since Friday, causing rivers to overflow and many areas of southern Germany to declare a state of emergency.

The most serious problems are presented in Bavaria and specifically in the regions of Augsburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg and Regensburg. Last December, snow hit Bavaria, causing serious problems on the railway network.

The situation also remains unsettled in Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. Already on Friday afternoon on the island of Lindau, in Lake Constance, the amount of water that fell exceeded 125 liters per square meter. The bad weather is forecast to continue until at least Monday morning, but with severe weather moving northwards, with a possible focus on the regions of Upper Bavaria, Hesse and the southern Rhineland.

He died in the line of duty

The first victim of the bad weather is recorded in the Pfaffenhofen district of Bavaria, north of Munich. A 42-year-old firefighter died trying to save a family when the inflatable boat he was in with three colleagues was overturned by rapids after the River Ilm overflowed late on Saturday night.

“This news breaks our hearts,” says Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Zender about the unlucky firefighter. “We will forever remember his contribution and his will to help his fellow men.”

The remaining firefighters aboard the inflatable boat were rescued. In the same area, hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes – among them the residents of two nursing homes.

Despite a bit of tragedy in the area of ​​Schwebis Gmünd, about 50 km east of Stuttgart, on Saturday evening: Two carriages of a high-speed train (ICE) with 185 passengers derailed due to a landslide caused by heavy rains, but fortunately did not overturn. Rescuers arrived on the scene in time and all passengers remain safe and sound.

Deutsche Bahn (DB) points out that, due to the state of emergency, there will be cancellations and delays on services to and from Munich, Stuttgart, Augsburg and other major cities in southern Germany, as well as on the rail connection to Switzerland via Karlsruhe.