!!!Flooding in Germany, 2013
by Stas Sedov
and Dmitry Chistoprudov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

15 July 2013


with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]


We offer a joint tour of the thirteen panoramas over the flooded areas
in Germany in June 2013.

Flood caught our crew in the Czech Republic, and we quickly created a
virtual tour about the difficult situation in the northern part of the
Czech Republic. After that, it was decided to continue to follow the
"big water" and to show the scale of the flooding in Germany.

And now we give the floor to our photographers — Dmitriy Chistoprudov
and Stanislav Sedov.

Having studied flood maps, forecasts, and online news reports for a long
time, we decided to fly to Berlin. To be honest, we didn't hope to see
the "big water", because it has already been a week and a half since the
flooding started. I thought that while we were deciding when and where
to fly, the water level would drop, but I was wrong. Our first
designated search area was around Magdeburg, the capital of
Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe River. The city was less than two hours drive
from Berlin down the infamous German Autobahn. However, twenty
kilometers to our destination point we got stuck in a traffic jam and
didn't make it to Magdeburg. We have to hand it to the Germans, to their
patience and discipline — the safety lane on the side of the road
remained clear all the time. Even motorcyclists stood in traffic along
with everyone else, which was rather shocking for us, people from
Russia. Every now and then special services and military vehicles drove
down the safety lane.

We took the first available exit, because we didn't want to waste any
more time. Ten minutes later we saw the "big water". Niegripp village
was suspiciously silent and deserted. Following our navigator to the
general direction of Elbe River, we passed a couple of streets and ran
into a "Road Closed" sign (we saw two hundred signs like that later
during our trip). From our parking spot we saw a dam that was a couple
of meters higher than our location — extra layer of sand bags raised the
flood barrier by one more meter. The surrounding streets leading to the
dam were "taped" off.

Local volunteers from Public Order groups patrolled most critical areas
of the village. They spoke no English. Using signs and gestures, we
found out that the penalty for crossing the tape (a safety margin) was
1000 Euros. We also saw water: it reached the top layer of sandbags on
the other side of the dam. Another 20 centimeters and it would be a
disaster. If it weren't for the increased height of the dam, Niegripp
would be in water up to the roofs.

[{Image src='niegripp.jpg' caption='Flooding in German village Niegripp\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

The water current was fast. It was very unusual and strange to see
bushes, trees, street signs, and lampposts floating in the water. And it
was even more unusual to see flooded homes in the distance. Seven
hundred meters separated us from the Elbe River channel! Level of the
raised water, its volume, and its speed made a horrendous impression on
us.

We drove to the crossing in Rogatz, but couldn't get close to the
river. All roads were blocked. A long line of military vehicles drove
through the cordon line carrying equipment.

On the way back to Magdeburg we saw a lot of picturesque places:
fields, meadows, forests, and small villages. It was there that I
ignored the restrictive sign for the first time and kept driving.
Otherwise we wouldn't be able to see anything. That's how we ended up in
Lostau.

Most likely, it was a very calm and quiet village on any other given
day. But the day we arrived it looked like a disturbed bee hive: at the
entrance to Lostau we saw several hundred people filling bags with sand
and loading them on trucks, tractors, passenger cars, and anything that
could deliver a rescue material to the dam.

[{Image src='volunteers.jpg' caption='Volunteers loading sandbags to strengthen the dyke\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

The most effective flood barrier is 15 kilograms of sand packed in a bag
made ??of jute or plastic. These bags protect homes and venues from
incoming water and strengthen the dam. After the flood in 2002 German
Fire Department and Technical Assistance Agency had hundreds of
thousands of these bags stored in case of another emergency.

[{Image src='dyke.jpg' caption='Strengthening of dyke by volunteers\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

The water level in Lostau area rose 30 centimeters above the main dam
and, if it weren't for the additional layer of bags and earth mound, the
village would be completely flooded. The situation was critical.

[{Image src='03_dyke2.jpg' caption='Strengthening of dyke by volunteers\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

Water kept rising slowly. It seeped through the dam and filled farm
fields in front of houses. Thousands of volunteers continued their hard
work. Firefighters pumped out water as fast as they could, and rescuers
on flat-bottomed boats brought materials to fortify the dam in partially
flooded areas.

[{Image src='04_flooding.jpg' caption='Flooding in Germany in June 2013\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

This is where we shot our first panorama. The helicopter was still in
the air when we saw a terrible picture on our screen: they couldn't save
the old part of Lostau. We could see roofs of flooded houses and water
stretching to the horizon.

Despite the tragedy of the situation, people working on the dam were
very cheerful, as if the Germans left their houses to celebrate yet
another public holiday. There was laughter and jokes all around us. But
the work was in full swing and didn't stop even for a minute. Maybe that
was the reason that no one paid any attention to the flying helicopter.
And those who did notice our presence tried to offer us food and water.

We were under impression that the flood united German people. The
Germans helped each other selflessly in the face of this natural
disaster: some of them volunteered to strengthen the dam, and some of
them helped to transfer sand and filled the bags. Local residents made
sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, tea, and coffee for the workers. Someone
brought pallets with drinking water and juices (not even once did we see
a place with volunteers that had no water supply).

[{Image src='05_food.jpg' caption='Tent with food for the workers at the dyke\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

Some people even took boats to flooded areas to milk cows that were left
behind during the evacuation. During such difficult times townspeople,
who usually fought over parking spots or argued about the fence color,
showed deep solidarity.

Our entire trip was somehow pieced together by itself. As if someone
decided everything for us. With the exception of a traffic fine we had
to pay for ignoring yet another "Road Closed" sign. It happened in
Rogatz. At first we saw some locals staring at us with suspicion: it
seemed like they couldn't understand how a car with Berlin numbers ended
up on a flooded road. And then we ran into a police vehicle.

Two angry looking policemen stepped out to greet us. I decided to speak
only Russian: to make us look like stupid tourists got lost on the road
and ended up where they shouldn't be. Stas showed them a navigation app
on his phone, trying to prove that we were going in the right direction.
Policemen listened to us and didn't understand a word we were saying.
But it was clear that they wanted us to pay 1000 Euros fine, and their
intentions were very serious. We came to an understanding. However, it
turned to be not exactly so. Policemen drove back towards the road sign
at a snail's speed. We followed them, not knowing what to do. We saw
that one of them called someone on the phone and had a long
conversation. We drove a few kilometers with a speed of 20 km / h
passing flooded areas of the road, and finally reached the road sign.
The police car stopped and the officer stepped out. During this little
trip he managed to learn Russian language.

"No! Not that way! Sign! Penalty!" said policeman, pointing to a sign
that we passed.

"Yes, but another car drove past it right in front of us and so we
decided to do the same. Besides, our navigator leads us in this
direction."

"You can't. Sign. Penalty!"

[{Image src='05a_driveway.jpg' caption='Driveway closed due to flooding\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

I opened a calculator app on my phone and gave it to the officer, who
thought for a second, sighed, and wrote number 30. And so we were all
square.

We took a detour around the problem area and arrived at Kehnert, where
our navigator led us to. It was quiet in Kehnert. We found a local guy,
who could speak English (which is very rare in those parts of Germany)
and he suggested that we visit Weißewarte, where at that time, according
to him, the flood situation was very critical. There was only one
problem — that village was far away from the Elbe River. We decided to
go there and see for ourselves.

[{Image src='06_kehnert.jpg' caption='Flooding in Kehnert in June 2013\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

6 kilometers to Weißewarte the road was blocked. We had to walk one
third of the way before catching a ride. Some fields around the village
were completely flooded, as if it has been a rice plantation for several
years. A fire truck drove past us, then it suddenly stopped, and backed
up. Apparently, the chief of a local fire station was driving the truck
and noticed a helicopter that Stas was carrying in his hands. When we
successfully breached the language barrier with the help of our
interpreter Mike, we found out that fire fighters need our help in
assessing current flood situation. Panoramic photos would make their job
a lot easier. For that they were willing to provide us with their
vehicles and help us pass all police cordons.

And so things finally got moving for us! Locals knew all bypass roads
and location of flooded areas. That day we traveled at least 250
kilometers. When Stas showed our footage to the fire station officers,
they were so grateful that shook our hands for a long time. Considering
the circumstances, we were glad to offer any help to the Germans.

The same evening we went north down the river. Our fire fighter friends
gave us a map with roadblocks. We arrived at Tangermunde two hours
before the sunset. At the city entrance I noticed a passing fire truck
and followed it to the fire station, which was exactly where we wanted
to go. We went straight to the local chief to offer him our help.
Impressed with our footage, he went to get approval from his boss. But
that time it didn't work: Bundeswehr prohibited all flights in the area.
There was a dam breach a few kilometers away from the city, in the
Fischbeck area. And the only way rescuers and the military could reach
the flooded area was by helicopter. That's why the air above the town
was buzzing with big cargo helicopters transporting pallets with
sandbags to the flooded area. We counted five helicopters that were
flying in circles, dumping sand, and returning for a refill. At times
altitude of their flight didn't exceed 300 meters.

[{Image src='07_helicopter.jpg' caption='Freight helicopters with sand\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'  popup='false'}]

We decided to get closer to where the dam was breached, and so we walked
three kilometers straight. The road went through a closed bridge across
the Elbe River, down to the fields, and then disappeared under the
water. We could see submerged Fischbeck in the distance, but it was
impossible to get any closer.

[{Image src='08_fields.jpg' caption='Flooded fields in Germany\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

Somewhere behind the trees helicopters were dropping sandbags.

[{Image src='09_flooding.jpg' caption='Flooding in Germany in June 2013\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

[{Image src='10_helicopter.jpg' caption='Helicopters with sand, which can be seen through the trees\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]H

In the end, we managed to take a spectacular picture at sunset: waters
of the Elbe River burst through the dam quickly flooding all riverside
fields and roads. We carefully studied the footage in the hotel and
found a trail that went across dry areas of the dam and led directly to
Fischbeck homes.

In the morning, armed with our intelligence data, we made our way
across the dam and went towards the flooded areas. At first we went down
the bike track, and then got stuck in terrible bushes, thorns, and
nettles that reached high above our heads. It took us two hours to get
to the village, which was 3 kilometers away. We crossed heavy streams of
water that was knee high, and forced our way through dense thickets.
Occasional swans and herons cast a suspicious glance at two strange men
carrying a helicopter in their hands and cameras around their necks.
Every now and then we saw roe deer rushing through the bushes. As for
us, we were hiding from the helicopters in the sky. Journalists, whom we
met on the bridge across the Elbe River, told us that we could end up
paying 800 Euros fine for going to the dam.

[{Image src='11_storks.jpg' caption='Storks during the floods in Germany\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

[{Image src='12_animals.jpg' caption='Animals in the flooded area\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

We weren't looking for an easy way out. By the time we reached the
village our arms and legs were scratched and burned by nettles. And I
was the luckiest one, because I was wearing slippers and shorts.

[{Image src='13_road.jpg' caption='Difficult road to the village\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

[{Image src='14_flooding3.jpg' caption='Flooding in Germany in June 2013\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

From time to time we saw rescuers taking their boats through the water
field and disappearing between flooded houses. Hiding in the bushes, we
managed to launch our helicopter a couple of times. We were about to
head back when Stas noticed a breach in the dam on one of the pictures.
And we decided to keep going.

[{Image src='15_lifeguards.jpg' caption='Lifeguards in boats during floods\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

An hour later we arrived at the former battlefield of man versus nature.
And it was obvious that nature won the battle.

[{Image src='16_dyke_breaking.jpg' caption='Dyke breaking spot\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

It was a fast retreat: pallets with water, juice, and food were
scattered all over the place. We saw an abandoned diesel generator
surrounded by hundreds of sandbags. Open house on wheels turned out to
be the headquarters: there were tables with maps, some notebooks, and
batteries for portable radio transmitters. Everything was abandoned. The
water destroyed about 100 meters of the dam. Rapid stream was flowing in
the direction of a flooded village. The water level was rising at the
rate of about 3 centimeters per hour.

[{Image src='17_machinery.jpg' caption='Thrown machinery at the site of dyke\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]

We decided to make it fast — took a few pictures of the breach and went
back. By evening we reached Mecklengurg with no trouble, and violated a
prohibitory road sign in Boizenburg. Having parked our car in front of
the fire station, we went to look for administration. Fire station chief
didn't speak English, but they quickly found Hagen, the fire fighter,
who helped us translate our proposal: we were willing to help them by
taking panoramic photos of flooded areas. Then we had this conversation:

"How much do you charge for your services?"

"We don't need money. We are here to help."

"No, it doesn't work that way! I'm pretty sure you're going to charge
us later."

"No, we won't do that. We'll do it for free!

"Hmm. Strange Russians"

[{Image src='18_fire_station.jpg' caption='Fire Station in Germany\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]



After we took pictures of two areas and showed photos to fire fighters,
happy administration went to discuss everything with the military.
Bundeswehr soldiers arrived in the evening to help fire fighters and our
footage came in handy when they were deciding on locations and a number
of people they would be sending out in the morning. When they used a
projector to show our panoramic photos from the air, military guys were
very surprised, and the fire station chief was very proud of himself.
Our work made the search in problematic areas of the dam easier and
helped coordinating rescue missions in the area.

As a sign of appreciation, we were given accommodations in a luxurious
mansion outside the city.

[{Image src='19_mansion.jpg' caption='Mansion near the town Boizenburg\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]



The following morning, after taking a few more pictures of the dam, we
were taken to fellow fire fighters in a neighboring town of Lauenburg.

[{Image src='20_lauenburg.jpg' caption='Flooding in Lauenburg\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]



The historic center of Lauenburg was in a valley, and the dams couldn't
protect it from the flood. Houses, some of which were more than 400
years old, were partially submerged under water. Fire fighters led us
through the cordon and gave each of us a pair of waders. To get to the
take-off site, we crossed the flooded street and went through the
restaurant.

[{Image src='21_restaurant_hall.jpg' caption='Flooded restaurant hall\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]



Inside there were small pieces of parquet floating like lonely little
boats, and looking outside the window we saw murky waters the Elbe River
almost at the level of a windowsill.

[{Image src='22_parquet.jpg' caption='Pieces of parquet in the flooded restaurant\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]


Standing in water, Stas launched the helicopter from a small front
porch. Twiggs were swept by the rapid flow of the river right past us.
But the most surprising thing was that the entire time we were there we
didn't see any garbage in the water. There were no water bottles,
packets, or other such trash. For that we bow deeply to the Germans.

[{Image src='23_porch.jpg' caption='Prepare for takeoff from wet porch' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]



Flood and natural disaster in Germany was a test not only for the local
citizens and rescuers, but also for German politicians and officials.
There were times when a lack of coordination between leaders of two
neighboring states could lead to serious consequences.

[{Image src='24_lauenburg2.jpg' caption='Flooding in Lauenburg\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]



For example, there was a difference in height of an additional
fortification of the dam on the border between Mecklengurg and Lower
Saxony. Mecklengurg fire fighters complained that their neighbors' dam
was like a stab in the back: "Even if we had three-meter dam
fortifications, all our efforts will go down the drain if the water
breached through flimsy dam in Lower Saxony. Their state leaders don't
think it's necessary to increase the height of the dam only to save
their neighbors who live downstream. They have more important things to
do. For the time being Mecklengurg is safe only because the Elba River
overflowed much further upstream near Magdeburg, and flood is not so bad
here."

[{Image src='25_flooding4.jpg' caption='Flooding in Germany in June 2013\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]


We finished shooting floods in Lauenburg, gave our footage to fire
fighters, and went to Berlin. By that time flood was approaching
Hamburg, a city that knew firsthand what damage a flood can cause, and,
therefore, it was well protected. They didn't need our help. I would
like to express my gratitude to fire fighters, with whom we had an
opportunity to work together, and all the people who helped us during
our trip!

[{Image src='26_AirPano.jpg' caption='AirPano and the people who helped in the shooting\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]
' alt='' width='900'}]


\\ \\
[13 Panoramas of Flooding in Germany|Geography/Europe/Germany/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Flooding_in_Germany]






[{SET customtitle='Flooding in Germany, 2013 (AP)'}]

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