The Elbe river 2024 - not just water levels

[notamermaid]

The Czech authorities let some additional water through so the level at Dresden briefly went to 93cm. It is now at 70cm. Rain is forecast for tomorrow and early on Monday.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Dresden gauge went down as far as 65cm this morning but is back to 72cm. The river is certainly struggling a bit. But that should change as with the rain that has swept over Germany and the Czech Republic we should see the level rise tomorrow. 85cm to 90cm are suggested.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A good recovery albeit short. The level rose to 101cm and is now down to 91cm. But it should not fall below 80cm again.

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

The rainfalls, predicted for the coming days will help to bring the water levels to a sufficient level, just in time for Viking's restart.
BUT... last night we have seen the collapse of the Carola bridge in Dresden, which blocks the Elbe now. Luckily there had been no casualties of injuries.
I am not sure, if the Beyla (or is it the Astrild ?) is berthed downriver from that bridge an would be able to move downriver. Will look into that tonight.

[steamboats]

The Viking Beyla is shown upriver of the Carola bridge. So she's trapped and can't go downriver.

 

Just saw the news and the photos. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

 

steamboats 

[notamermaid]

Scary stuff. I wonder what has happened. Bridges are regularly checked. I see that this is a steel bridge from after 1960. If bad turns to worse, it could mean the end of the whole bridge. The German word "Materialermüdung" springs to mind, especially as it says in reports that the bridge is undergoing repairs.Typical wear and tear that affects such constructions. Luckily no one was hurt, it says that 18 minutes before a tram had passed the bridge. Brings back memories of the bridge at Wiesbaden that was so dangerous that the workmen were not even allowed to take their vehicle off. It stood abandoned for months, it was a creepy sight.

 

We will of course need to wait until the site is fully inspected and secured to hear when ships can sail again, I mean it may not be enough to just remove the fallen bridge section. The old paddle steamers dock very close. Thankfully none seem to have been affected directly, but the "Meissen" needs to be protected from the change in river current.

 

Headline news all over Germany, of course but here is a regional report: https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/dresden/dresden-radebeul/carolabruecke-einsturz-elbe-verkehr-102.html

 

I see that it has made it into nternational news cycles already, so you will find reports in English.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[AnhaltER1960]

6 hours ago, steamboats said:

The Viking Beyla is shown upriver of the Carola bridge. So she's trapped and can't go downriver.

 

Just saw the news and the photos. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

 

steamboats 

That means, some people at Viking in Basel will have to do some extra shifts to plan the "deviation programme". The collapsed bridge will obstruct river traffic for weeks, if not months. So a ship swap in Dresden looks likely.

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, AnhaltER1960 said:

So a ship swap in Dresden looks likely.

That should work. Viking has of course a lot of experience with ship swaps.

 

The Czech Republic is expecting a lot of rain so are already releasing more water out of the reservoirs. Even if it does not rain much in Germany, Dresden will see a fast rising level. It could jump from now 99cm to 200cm on the 14th. The authorities say this could worsen the situation at the bridge.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The forecast now suggests a further rise to 300cm for the gauge at Dresden. The authorities are worried that a second section of the bridge may collapse as an effect of the flooding that is expected. The bridge in the water is a cause of sudden dangerous changes in currents. It is not clear yet how high the level will get after the 15th, 300cm will not be the peak.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[AnhaltER1960]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The forecast now suggests a further rise to 300cm for the gauge at Dresden. The authorities are worried that a second section of the bridge may collapse as an effect of the flooding that is expected. The bridge in the water is a cause of sudden dangerous changes in currents. It is not clear yet how high the level will get after the 15th, 300cm will not be the peak.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Forecast even at 400 cm now. They seem to adjust it by the hour...
While the forecasts of massive rainfalls (this "foot of rain", as our host chose to put it) are clear, it it not clear yet, where exactly the rain will fall and which river system will be affected. The Danube, yes, as much of the rain territory is catchment area of the Danube, but Elbe and Odra will be a matter of rain some miles further east/further west of the respective watershed.
Of course a 100 yds slab of concrete in the riverbed, perpendicular to the current does not help the discharge and might lead to odd currents. And high water does not improve the accessibility of the bridge ruins for assessment and removing.

[notamermaid]

That is a fast change indeed. I see that the Elbe has now been put on flood warning, together with the East (Bautzen/Görlitz):

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Report of MDR television says that work has started on the sagging section of the bridge. It will be demolished. The bridge consists of four parts. Two carry the road traffic, the other two tram rails and district heating pipes. One of the tram sections has collapsed, the other tram section is the sagging one. It is not clear yet if the road sections will be kept, they have suffered some stress and have moved.

 

It will not be possible to clear the Elbe before the wave of water arrives. A spokesperson for the authorities has said that they expect the river to rise so high that the collapsed bridge section will be overflowed by the water. Forecast says 431cm is expected, but the authorities are already mentioning 500cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The rise of the Elbe waters in Germany has clearly started. Dresden gauge is now at 161cm. It may be triple that by Sunday night.

 

The demolition company has worked the whole night and the bridge section that was sagging is now lying in several parts on the ground.

 

notamermaid

 

[RDVIK2016]

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The rise of the Elbe waters in Germany has clearly started. Dresden gauge is now at 161cm. It may be triple that by Sunday night.

 

The demolition company has worked the whole night and the bridge section that was sagging is now lying in several parts on the ground.

 

notamermaid

 

MDR regional television has a livestream of the work on the bridge.  It will be interesting to watch the rise of the river over the next day and to see how much work they can continue to do. https://www.mdr.de/video/livestreams/mdr-plus/eventlivestreamsechsww-126.html

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

MDR regional television has a livestream of the work on the bridge. 

Thank you. I had a look at that last night.

 

Well done to the men (and perhaps a couple of women presumably) working through the night to secure the place. From what I have understood the bridge was under regular observation but additional measures had already been taken and assessments made, it says that the section of bridge that collapsed was due for construction work (that would have kept it going) last this year, but was postponed by just a few months to next year. The ones in charge uttered shock and surprise that apparently the bridge had been under more stress than thought.

 

By the way, the collapse has been recorded on tape by a webcam. A second video, by an amateur, has been assessed and declared genuine.

 

The weather warning map looks ominous.

 

Although the Elbe is not as busy a waterway as the Rhine, it will hamper cargo transport. Much can be loaded onto lorries and trains, but a special delivery that cannot be transported any other way at short notice is waiting in Decin and cannot leave now.

 

Dresden gauge is at 215cm now and the forecast suggests a level up to 600cm may be reached on Monday. River traffic is halted at 500cm.

 

It does not look good for Viking or any other river cruise itinerary on the Elbe upstream from Magdeburg.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

Dresden gauge is now at 332cm. Flood warning level 1 of 400cm is expected early tomorrow morning, flood warning level 2 of 500cm late tomorrow evening. Both the Vltava and the Elbe are flooding in their upper reaches. This does not look good at all:

 

As one Dresden citizen said in an interview yesterday, the situation "is surreal", first the bridge and now the flooding.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Demolition work on the Carola Bridge has stopped. The Elbe's level has risen over one metre during the day. The parts of the bridge that are still standing are being closely monitored. Dresden expects the Elbe to peak there on Thursday. The gauge now reads 382cm. Flood warning level three of 600cm is expected Monday lunchtime.

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

23 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Dresden expects the Elbe to peak there on Thursday.

 

notamermaid

 

Viking have planned to resume their Elbe cruises next Friday with the guests starting their journey in Berlin and Prague respectively on Tuesday.
So far the the situation is: The Beyla lies in Dresden, unable to sail upstream to pick up the guests in Decin because of the flood. The Astrild is berthed in Wittenberg and it might well be the landing stage will be inundated by Thursday. 
Not clear yet, what they plan exactly, but there is no chance the first sailings can go ahead as planned. Smells like Diesel from the busses....

[notamermaid]

7 minutes ago, AnhaltER1960 said:

Smells like Diesel from the busses....

It does. I guess the Florentina will not be sailing at all. Not sure that she was supposed to be doing an itinerary this week, I have little info on her. She is in Melnik in the harbour off the Elbe.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The situation tonight for the Elbe and Oder. This map only shows the gauges in the Czech Republic of the rivers with their tributaries that are flowing into Germany. To the right of the screenshot is the Oder river which later becomes the border river between Germany and Poland so this is shown:

 

notamermaid