Storm damage: fire brigades in constant action
The low-pressure system also kept the Chemnitz fire brigades very busy on Sunday: From early Sunday morning until the afternoon, 170 call-outs were recorded throughout the city. In the morning and mid-morning in particular, the emergency services provided technical assistance in clearing up the storm damage. This involved clearing fallen trees and branches, removing downed power and telephone lines and securing loose roof parts or advertising structures.
The storm caused major damage to the roof of the "Weltecho". Due to the gusts of up to force 10 winds that persisted throughout the day, the roof could not be secured by emergency services for safety reasons. For this reason, Annaberger Straße was closed at Weltecho and further along at Gleisdreieck. The closure is expected to remain in place until at least Monday afternoon until the roof can be secured.
The zoo and the wildlife park remain closed due to branches lying around and for safety reasons. It has not yet been decided when they will be able to open tomorrow.
In total, the Chemnitz professional fire brigade with three fire engines and all volunteer fire brigades in the city area were deployed with around 250 personnel, as well as the 25th Medical Task Force. To deal with the storm damage, a separate operations control centre was set up at Fire Station 1 in addition to the control centre. The operations continued into the evening.