A storm caused a lot of wind and increased water levels in northern Germany on Wednesday. As a spokesman for the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) announced, the water levels on the North Sea coast were around one meter above the mean high tide.

The gusts of wind reached wind speeds of up to 85 kilometers per hour (wind force 9). According to the fire brigade and police, there were no significant operations until the early evening in Hamburg or Schleswig-Holstein.

In Hamburg-St. According to the BSH, the peak was just below the storm surge limit of 1.5 meters. The Elbe beach at Övelgönne and some parking lots nearby were flooded, the police drove around in cars and made loudspeaker announcements.

Some water spilled from the Elbe onto the fish market, but there were no major floods, as a dpa photographer reported. During the night, the water levels are expected to rise a little more and partially reach the storm surge limit of 1.5 meters.

On the North Sea coast, the BSH speaks of a storm surge when the flood water is at least 1.5 meters higher than normal. A severe or very severe storm surge is only spoken of from values ​​of 2.5 or 3.5 meters.