Storms cause flooding along German coast
Stormy weather has led to flooding along Germany's Baltic Sea coast and caused some damage to seaside promenades.
There was no word of any injuries in the flooding Wednesday night, and the water was receding along the coast on Thursday morning.
However, Jurgen Holfert of Germany's Federal Office for Shipping and Hydrography said that "it was the strongest storm surge since 2006," news agency DPA reported.
Flooding was reported from Flensburg at the western end of Germany's Baltic coast to Usedom island on the Polish border. On Usedom, seaside snack stands were washed away and seaside promenades damaged.
Flooding threatened parts of Lubeck's World Heritage-listed medieval downtown, which had to be protected with walls of sand bags.
"We can't comment yet on the extent of the damage," a police spokesman said. He added, however, that the city's famous Gothic citadel, the Holsten Gate.
Although stormy weather, as well as snow and sleet, were expected to continue in Germany on Thursday, Storm Axel was predicted to sweep eastward across the Baltic to Belarus.
