notamermaid

The devastating flooding on the Danube in that summer... On the Rhine things were bad but not quite as bad. notamermaid

The markings on the old crane, now the Pegelhaus, in Koblenz: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hochwasserschutz_Koblenz#/media/Datei:PegelmarkenRheinkranHäuschen.jpg Historical markings are in almost every village and town along the Rhine and Moselle (and other rivers probably). Here is a gentleman standing next to one, an elaborate bronze scale: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/hochwasser-rhein-mosel-nebenfluesse-pegel-schifffahrt-regen-wetter-100.html Just in case the photo changes: That is an interesting shot... I will elaborate with a bit more time. notamermaid

About the question of historical data at Kaub. The website I have consulted in the past has deleted the historical data pages. So I used another one which is actually a bit more straightforward but does not have as many years and therefore I have exhausted my archive. Here is what I have been able to find: Kaub equalling or exceeding 640cm in: January 2011 June 2013 January 2018 February 2021 Kaub gauge is most likely to peak below 560cm on Monday. notamermaid

On Sunday we have Volkstrauertag coming up. A remembrance day. Our government is thinking of introducing a remembrance day for veterans of the army. Have not looked into details yet. A typical November day and I am busy with household and work (reduced work due to low tourism in November) and checking the flooding in Germany. Which you will have noticed. 😉 Have had time for a bit of cooking out of the ordinary though, so made bread and butter pudding with home-made custard. So worth the effort. Have a good weekend everyone. notamermaid

Updated police report says the German-French authorities at Gambsheim - responsible for the Iffezheim lock and the area - are investigating the captain for drink driving. The lock incident is getting a new dimension. notamermaid

Trier is at 660cm. The authorities expect 700cm still, on Saturday. notamermaid

Yes, the steering was almost out so it was very difficult to dock as per newspaper report. Glad to read that they can sail on and Viking was able to react so well to the situation. notamermaid

Sorry, no idea. I only know it does not happen every year. Could try a bit of research but that would take time and is for another day. Bad news from Maxau. Due to the continued rain the level has not dropped enough. River traffic remains suspended. Does not look good for the weekend... Koblenz has closed the parking lots along the river bank(s). To say it in a photo: Look who is thirsty. A Viking river cruise ship is getting fuel. Basel remains on M_I; Worms, Mainz, Koblenz and Cologne are all on M_I now. That is extra vigilance and further navigational measures. Only Maxau is on M_II, i.e. river traffic ban. It is a drab, grey and rainy day today. Typical November weather and it is getting colder but no snow for the valleys, just the high mountains. notamermaid

Sorry to read that. Viking are really trained in the ship swaps, should go smoothly under the circumstances. Passau gauge at 656cm. Too high... notamermaid

Stages are M_I at 460cm and M_II at 640cm for navigational purposes. Statistical mean flooding is at 544cm. Shipping is halted at 640cm. The markers are on the wall: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegel_Kaub#/media/Datei:PegelKaubRhein.JPG notamermaid

Kaub is at 422cm: That is high but not flooding. Kaub will continue to rise throughout Friday. notamermaid

The Moselle is affected by high water levels. Trier gauge is at 659cm and still rising. At 695cm river traffic is halted. notamermaid

The level at Maxau is still too high, 769cm. notamermaid

So no quick repair possible. That means either a lengthy stay in Miltenberg for the Gymir or towing to a shipyard. Update from Mainecho says the Gymir hit parts of the dock structure while trying to dock, so damage there as well and along the ship's hull (scraping). Crew told the newspaper that passengers went on an excursion to Rothenburg. https://www.main-echo.de/ressorts/blaulicht/unfall-schiff-viking-gymir-liegt-manoevrierunfaehig-in-miltenberg-fest-art-8092636 Würzburg and Rothenburg can be combined in an excursion, no contradiction there. notamermaid

Sorry, that would be a tad high... 700cm. Current figure at Maxau is 782cm so going down at a reasonable speed. It is currently raining in the Upper and Middle Rhine valley again. notamermaid

Sorry to read that your friend has their cruise affected. Most important thing is that all are safe, but what an annoying thing to happen. In a discussion among the folk online who know the rivers from sailing - there are some captains posting - it has been mentioned that the railway bridge is lower than other bridges. A few crucial centimetres less. notamermaid

Sorry about the link. It seems that SAT1 a television channel does not want you to watch it in the UK. I get the same with BBC iPlayer. The ship was the big news yesterday in German media, this morning I cannot find any updates. This is the railway line bridge, so I assume that dot away from Miltenberg town and the regular docking place is the Viking Gymir, no terrestrial signal accessible: notamermaid

Pfelling gauge is at 576cm, that is very high but statistically not yet flooding. Passau is high at 625cm but that is better than yesterday and eases the situation for river cruise ships. notamermaid

Basel-Rheinhalle gauge is well done again but obviously the river is still carrying a high volume of water with Lake Constance well above the mean. River traffic has resumed. Maxau peaked at 805cm this morning and is slowly going down now (798cm). The situation is a little worse than what the forecast suggested last night so it is not clear when and if river traffic will resume during the night. The wave will be going through the Rhine Gorge later today. From the Moselle we hear that after the situation calmed yesterday, the authorities do anticipate a rise at Trier that may bring the level to 700m. The ban on river traffic is triggered at a level of 695cm. notamermaid

Passau gauge now stands at 645cm. notamermaid

It does not look too bad and the report says no one was injured. If there are technical issues due to the damage then that will be problematic for sailing.You can see that some parts of the superstructure have come off in this video: https://www.sat1.de/serien/1730-sat1-bayern/videos/zu-hoher-wasserstand-im-main-kreuzfahrtschiff-bleibt-haengen-7373322 The assumption is that the high level of the Main could have contributed to the accident. All in all though the river is not that high. But you need to calculate carefully how much headroom there is, the recent rain has made the level rise. There is no flooding (yet). Again, the Main has many low bridges. This is the gauge closest to Miltenberg: notamermaid

Thank you for the info. I hope you have very much enjoyed your cruise. The forecast has been adjusted and it looks as if Maxau will now peak below 800cm. This could happen during the night so with a bit of luck ships will be able to sail again tomorrow evening in the stretch from Iffezheim to Germersheim. The blue markers mean high water levels: notamermaid

River traffic around Maxau is suspended as confirmed by news reports. notamermaid

Bridges on the Main are notoriously low. This report says the ship has sustained heavy damage at the wheelhouse and (for the time being) cannot sail: https://www.main-echo.de/ressorts/blaulicht/schiff-kollidiert-mit-eisenbahnbruecke-miltenberg-bahnbruecke-gesperrt-art-8088469 The railway bridge was temporarily closed. notamermaid

Maxau gauge has just reached 750cm. notamermaid