3 days ago
Germany updates: Severe storms hit several states
More rounds of thunderstorms, showers, and hail are expected in the south, central, and eastern parts of Germany The western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and southern state of Baden-Württemberg among those impacted by storms so far At least three people were killed in a fire at a major hospital in Hamburg Federal police report success with stricter border controls
Here's a roundup of the news stories from Germany from June 1, 2025:
At least three people were killed in a fire that broke out at a hospital in the northern German city of Hamburg.
More than 50 people were injured, 16 of them seriously. At least one person was in a life-threatening condition.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.
Read more about what happened here.
National police chief Dieter Romann has given a favorable initial assessment of the tightened border controls and dismissed the police union's concerns about overburdened personnel.
"Why shouldn't the Federal Police, with around 56,000 employees, achieve what we used to achieve with 10,000 or 30,000 officers?" Romann told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Romann said he has spoken with all of his counterparts several times. "With some of them weekly. I've received a lot of support for our measures. One person put it simply: 'About time!'"
The Federal Police permanently has around 9,800 officers in their regular stations along the national borders, Romann said.
Since September 16, 2024, when Germany reintroduced temporary checks at all nine of its land borders, the personnel have been reinforced by almost 1,200 colleagues. There are now as many as 13,000 to 14,000 federal police officers deployed at the borders.
Romann rejected the assumption that personnel would be withdrawn from other operational areas, such as train stations, for border controls.
Strong thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail, and gusty winds caused chaos in parts of Germany over the weekend.
In the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in particular, the storms have flooded basements and streets and uprooted trees.
Within a few hours, there were hundreds of emergency calls. However, no injuries were reported.
Some outdoor events had to be canceled at short notice, including an open-air concert on Münsterplatz in Ulm in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg and the 3RIDES Gran Fondo race in Aachen.
Today, the weather is expected to be warm, but occasionally unpleasant. The south, central, and eastern parts of the country are mainly affected, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).
Moin from the team in DW's Bonn newsroom. It's been a wet and windy weekend for us.
The western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where we are based, has been particularly hit by strong thunderstorms, gusty winds, and heavy rain and hail.
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