Storm Luise injures two seriously in Germany, disrupts rail; next storm on the way
Scaffolding toppled in Nastätten, seriously injuring two people, while overhead-line damage halted trains in western Germany. Storm Manja is expected to bring heavy rain from Saturday evening.
Symbolic image · Photo: Spielvogel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Storm Luise caused damage mainly in western and southwestern Germany on Friday. In Nastätten in Rhineland-Palatinate, scaffolding near an autumn fair toppled over, probably in a gust of wind. Police said two people were seriously injured, one of them critically, and was flown to hospital by helicopter. In Lebach in Saarland, an advertising sign struck a pedestrian, causing minor injuries.
Rail traffic was also hit. Services at Karlsruhe's main station were halted for a time in the evening after an object struck the overhead line; all tracks were later reopened. Near Aachen, an ICE train carrying 280 passengers broke down after overhead-line damage and was towed to Stolberg. Fallen trees blocked lines near Neuss and elsewhere. Police in Saarland recorded 59 storm-related call-outs by the evening.
Luise is moving toward the Baltic Sea and Denmark on Saturday, with winds easing during the day. From the evening, the next storm, Manja, approaches from the west. Heavy rain, in places at severe-weather levels, is possible overnight into Sunday. Gusts of up to 100 km/h are expected on the North Sea coast on Sunday, and a storm surge is possible in Hamburg.