Germany battles floods: Mass evacuation from Grav Island campsite

For many days, Germany has been battling flooding following intense rainfall. The water level on the Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia is rising. The owners of the largest campsite in the country have decided to evacuate. Tourists must leave the premises by 7 PM on Tuesday.

A notice appeared on the campsite's website:

Dear campers and guests, due to continuous rainfall and rising water levels in the surrounding rivers and reservoirs, evacuation is necessary. The safety of our guests is our highest priority. The campsite must be vacated by 4 June 2024 by 7:00 PM.

Grav Island is the largest campsite in Germany, accommodating up to 15,000 people. It resembles a small town. There are shops, restaurants, a small zoo, beaches, playgrounds, and even transport to showers. The Rhine surrounds the area, and a dam is the only way to the floodplain island.

The decision to evacuate the campsite residents came after reports of rising water levels on the Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Continuous, intense rainfall over several days has led to flooding in southern Germany. The federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are particularly affected by the floods, which have killed four people.

The only casualty so far was a firefighter who, with three colleagues, was rowing a rubber dinghy to rescue a family in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm in Bavaria, about 22 miles north of Munich, on Saturday. The 42-year-old man died when the dinghy capsized; the other firefighters were rescued.

On Monday, the police recovered the body of a dead woman from a flooded basement in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria, about 31 miles northwest of Munich, local authorities reported. The 43-year-old woman had been missing since Saturday. Meanwhile, in Baden-Württemberg, two people died due to the flood. On Monday in Schorndorf, about 19 miles west of Stuttgart, the bodies of a man and a woman were found in the basement of a house.

Several counties and cities in Bavaria, including Regensburg—the first major city—have declared a state of emergency. Following continuous rainfall, the water in the Danube and several of its tributaries has risen to dangerous levels, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. Many schools and kindergartens in the areas most affected by the floods remained closed on Monday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder visited the flood-affected areas in Upper Bavaria on Monday. Scholz announced that the federal government would support those affected. The Chancellor also warned against neglecting "man-made climate change mitigation."

Due to the lousy weather, rail traffic in southern Germany is significantly restricted. Long-distance trains are not running from the north and west of the country to Munich. The disruptions also affect local transport and sections of motorways near Munich. The German Meteorological Service (DWD) still warns of showers with a possibility of heavy rain in southern Germany.