Since June 1, heavy rainfall has led to severe flooding in southern Germany, in particular Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, two economic powerhouse states that house a large share of Germany’s export-oriented automotive, industrial machinery, and medical device companies. Several towns and cities declared a state of emergency, including the city of Regensburg, as river levels of tributaries to the Rhine and Danube Rivers continued to rise.
Everstream’s meteorological data reveals that when looking at the past 30 days, the heavy rainfall and flooding across Germany combined to be the second wettest over the past 24 years. The only other year that was wetter during this time period was 2013 when significant flooding impacted southern Germany and much of the Danube River basin.
The events are reminiscent of the devastating floods that affected the Ahr valley in western Germany, and parts of France and Belgium in 2021, causing widespread economic damage and killing nearly 200 people. German chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the flooded areas on Monday, June 3 as emergency workers raced to rescue residents, organize evacuations, and fortify dams.
Train delays were widespread across much of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria early this week, with one ICE high speed train derailing following a landslide. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, has largely been cut from the rail network, disrupting a critical North-South railway connection for cargo linking Italy to the Baltic and North Sea. Multiple county and regional roads have been closed while traffic disruptions have also been reported along the A9 highway which connects Nuremberg and Munich.
Looking at the next 10 days, the wet weather pattern remains active across southern Germany; however, rainfall totals look to be near normal levels, not exacerbating the current flood levels, but potentially slowing the flood waters from receding.
Smaller tributaries overflow due to flooding in Germany
Most of the severe flooding from June 1-3 occurred along tributaries of the Danube or Rhine Rivers, located in either Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, with the overflowing rivers flooding residential and industrial areas along the way. This caused the Danube River in particular to rise to critical levels at multiple gauges from Donauwörth to Regensburg and Passau. The Danube is expected to hit the highest mark of 10 meters in Passau on the German-Austrian border during the afternoon hours of Tuesday, June 4.
The most severe flooding was reported along the following rivers: Danube River (Donau), Isar, Regen, Abens, Ilm, Paar, Schmutter, Glonn, Zusam, Mindel, Fils, Schussen, Kammel, Günz, Amper and Wieslauf.
Dozens of companies confirm impacts due to flooding in Germany
Since June 1, Everstream Analytics identified dozens of companies across industrial sectors ranging from automotive and industrial machinery to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices that reported flooding impacts on their operations.
While some companies located near some of the overflowing rivers were directly hit by the floodwaters, causing damages to factory buildings, equipment and machinery, others shut down out of precaution after securing the site, or due to lack of personnel that struggled to get to the facilities amid flooded roads and disrupted train services.
More than half (55%) of all affected companies identified by Everstream Analytics work or supply the automotive as well as the industrial machinery/mechanical engineering industries. Many other companies were specialized in the supply of the pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and medical devices sectors.
Flooding disruptions reported to highways, trains, and inland river shipping
The heavy rainfall is causing widespread logistical disruptions in southern Germany. Many county and regional roads within Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are closed. Autobahn 9 was also closed on June 3 between Ingolstadt and Langenbruck. Authorities reopened the motorway on the morning of June 4. These roadway closures impacted postal and cargo delivery services in southern Germany.
Train services in southern Germany have also been impacted by the floods. Deutsche Bahn, the country’s main rail operator, warned of significant disruptions to long-distance and cargo services across southern Germany. Long-distance train services between Munich and the cities of Stuttgart, Würzburg, and Nuremberg have halted. Meanwhile, there are severe disruptions to train routes between Munich-Berlin, Munich-Karlsruhe, Munich-Zurich, Stuttgart-Frankfurt, Karlsruhe-Nuremberg, and Augsburg-Oberstdorf.
Flooding has also impacted inland shipping along the Rhine River. Water levels along the Rhine have either surpassed or are dangerously close to critical flood levels, prompting authorities to issue a halt for inland shipping operations. Shipping has halted along the Rhine River at multiple sections, including in Basel (Switzerland), Karlsruhe, and near Mayence and is not expected to resume before June 6. Shipping on northern sections of the river is operating normally, including the important points of Duisburg and Cologne.
Authorities are also monitoring water levels along the Rhine near the Neckar River and could halt shipping operations there if water levels cross the critical mark of 7.6 meters. The Rhine is an important shipping route for containers and commodities including minerals, coal, and chemicals. Cargo may be re-routed via rail between Cologne and Mannheim, two important rail hubs in western Germany, as a result, causing further delays.
Everstream clients are receiving more detailed insights and recommendations about this risk.
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