Flood situation in Chemnitz eases

At 7.30 p.m., the Chemnitz was in flood level 2 with a level of 2.54 metres. The Zwönitz was also in level 2 with a level of 1.82 metres. The Würschnitz was only in warning level 1 at 1.48 metres. The Pleißenbach was also still just in warning level 1 at 0.97 metres. The Kappelbach has fallen to 0.68 metres and is therefore below the flood warning levels. The severe weather warning for the Chemnitz area has been cancelled.

Federal Minister of the Interior Hans-Peter Friedrich and Minister President Stanislaw Tillich met with Mayor Barbara Ludwig and the City of Chemnitz's civil defence and disaster management team this morning to find out about the situation in Chemnitz. Minister President Tillich promised support.

"A big thank you to all the emergency services and the many volunteers who have been working non-stop since last week. What they have achieved has been impressive," said Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig. The same applies to the willingness of the people of Chemnitz to help. Numerous citizens had helped to fill sandbags, for example.

Overall, the fire brigade with its professional fire brigade and volunteer fire brigades as well as the police were still in action, as were the THW, ASB and DRK with numerous volunteers. 200 firefighters arrived from Berlin as reinforcements. During the day, the number of firefighters deployed totalled around 450, with the main focus still on flooded cellars and streets. During the course of the day, the nave of St James' Church also had to be drained in addition to the already known deployment sites. In the evening, the main tasks included securing an industrial building in Rochlitzer Straße and securing a retaining wall in Adelsberger Straße.

Classes will resume at Chemnitz schools on Tuesday. Exceptions to this are the school buildings that cannot yet be used due to flooding or building damage: These are the Einsiedel grammar school, Annen primary and secondary school, Altchemnitz learning support school and Harthau primary school. The building at Philipp-Straße 20 can only be used to a limited extent.

The daycare centres in Moritzstraße (alternative location: Waisenstraße 3) and Einsiedler Hauptstraße (alternative location: Reichenhainer Straße 33) will remain closed tomorrow. The day-care centres in Schulstraße and Gustav-Freytag-Straße can reopen on Tuesday.

A total of around 800 households are still without power. The electricity suppliers are endeavouring to reconnect them as soon as the situation on site allows, for example when cellars have been pumped out so that they can be reconnected.

The roads closed due to the flooding will be gradually reopened after cleaning and inspection. The overview of roads that are still impassable can be found in PM 319. The latest information will be posted on the Internet.

There are still restrictions today on CVAG and Citybahn routes (line 53, replacement service on line 522). Details can be found on the transport companies' websites at www.cvag.de and www.city-bahn.de.

The municipal swimming pool, which was also affected by the floods, must remain closed until further notice. The Tietz, which had to remain closed on Monday, can reopen on Tuesday.

Since Monday afternoon, ASR employees have been working intensively on street cleaning to remove floating debris and rubbish. The late shift was extended and the night shift started earlier. It is likely that multiple cleaning activities will be necessary because once the coarse dirt has been removed, it cannot be removed with a single clean.

From now on, property owners affected by the flooding can place their bulky waste at the side of the road. In these areas, a bulky waste street collection will be organised by the ASR. If you have any questions, please contact customer service on 0371 4095-777.

The regular waste disposal of residual and organic waste, lightweight packaging and paper was already carried out as planned on Monday.

The city administration will keep the citizens' hotline on 0371 488-3344 switched on until 10 pm on Monday. It will continue from 7 a.m. on Tuesday.