Post date: Jun 11, 2013 11:24:18 AM
The German state of Brandenburg on high alert as water level in the river Elberemains high.
WITTENBERGE, GERMANY (JUNE 11, 2014) (REUTERS) - The towns and villages in the upper state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany remained on high alert for Elbe floods on Tuesday (June 11).
Residents in the town of Wittenberge, some 120 kilometres north of Magdeburg, breathed a sigh of relief in the morning as water level turned out to be not as high as feared."For us it is important that we remain around the mark of 7.80 metres . 7.70 metres would be better. This morning it was still 7.75 metres. But the fact that the weir in Neu Werben was closed again might result in higher waters in Wittenberge. We expect that to have an impact in about 6-7 hours," said county commissioner forPrignitz, Hans Lange.
Over the weekend, around 23,000 people had to leave Magdeburg, as water levels in the Elbe rose to a record of 7.48 metres, around 5 metres above normal.
German insurers are likely to face damage claims from current flooding in the country that are higher than the 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) seen in the Elbe river floods of 2002, insurance association GDV said on Monday.
However, reliable estimates for the flood damage will only be available once the water has subsided and the damage can be inspected, the GDV said in a statement.