Summer Storms wreak havoc on Germany and Switzerland; details inside

On Monday night, heavy rain, large hailstones, and gale-force winds pounded regions of southern Germany and Switzerland, triggering severe flooding and ripping a portion of an opera house's roof off, said reports. According to police and rail operator Deutsche Bahn, several road tunnels were flooded, and rail services were entirely suspended in and around Stuttgart, Germany.

Rivers of water gushed down streets, and car windscreens were cracked by large hailstones, said reports. Hundreds of calls to emergency services were reported across the southern states of Rheinland-Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg due to flooded cellars, fallen trees, landslides, and stuck vehicles.

Heavy summer storms in Europe

A strong gust of wind tore off part of the roof of the Stuttgart Opera at 8:30 p.m., while around 250 people remained inside after a music recital. According to managing director Oliver Hendriks, a significant portion of copper planking landed in the opera house gardens. Reportedly, no one was hurt, but the damage caused by thousands of litres of rainfall entering the property was still being assessed, he said. 

Summer storm in Germany

The Swiss news agency recorded large hailstones up to seven cm diameter near Nottwill, in the Swiss canton of Lucerne. The police and fire departments in the canton of Fribourg were called 300 times, including to rescue a class of 16 children and two adults who were stuck in the blizzard. Six youngsters and one adult were admitted to the hospital. As per reports, at least five individuals were hurt in the German-speaking cantons, including a bicycle that was hit in the head by hailstones.

Reportedly, several dozen centimetres of hail fell in the southern Vosges area of France on Tuesday, prompting the use of snow shovels and snowploughs in an unseasonably warm climate.  The Meteo France weather service has issued a storm warning for the whole country's northeast.  In Germany, bad weather was expected to last throughout Tuesday evening, with forecasts predicting more thunderstorms and heavy rain in the country's north and east, said reports.

Picture Credit: AP