Roads closed, two injured as storm sweeps across Germany

Severe weather roiled Germany on Sunday, causing damage in several states and injuring at least two people – though on the coast, windsurfers embraced the conditions.

Roads were closed in many parts of Germany with fallen trees and branches hampering traffic over the weekend.

There was a storm surge on the North Sea coast on Sunday, which severely affected ferry services on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, but there was no major damage.

In the southern Black Forest, two people were seriously injured when a falling tree hit their minibus during storms. They were brought to hospital.

In the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt, strong winds hampered the rescue of three people who were seriously injured and two who suffered minor injuries in an accident. The weather prevented the rescue helicopter from deploying, police said, and ambulances were called to the scene.

In Baden-Württemberg, the police and fire brigade were called out around 50 times due to fallen trees, with only property damage reported in most cases.

The storm surge reached the North Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein as expected, with the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency forecasting water levels in parts of the coastal region to reach up to 2 metres above the average high tide on Sunday.

The German Weather Service said to brace for gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour and rain in the afternoon.

Windsurfers welcome storm

The weather apparently offered good conditions for windsurfers with images shared of athletes venturing into the sea on the North Sea island of Sylt despite the storm.

On the island of Norderney, a storm flooded a campsite, overturning beach chairs as waves went surging into the dunes.

Some ferry services were cancelled in several of the Baltic and North Sea states.

The Weather Service predicted calmer conditions over the Baltic Sea on Monday.

Unusual rescue operation in Munich

Meanwhile in Munich, in the south, a craftsman was trapped in an apartment on the 13th floor of a new building as a violent gust of wind shut the door. He was rescued by emergency services.

The fire brigade said the apartment door of the as yet unfinished high-rise building had slammed shut with such force that it could not be opened from either the inside or the outside.

Even the fire brigade was initially unable to open the high-security door. Finally, the team brought in an aerial rescue platform and rescued the man unharmed from the balcony at a height of around 47 metres.