1872 Baltic Sea flood

The Baltic Sea storm flood in 1872, often referred to as storm surge, investigated the Baltic coast of Denmark to Pomerania on the night of 12th to November 13th 1872 home and is the heaviest known storm flood the Baltic Sea. The highest measured peak water level was about 3.3 m above mean sea level.

Course

In the days before the storm flood blew a gale from the southwest across the Baltic Sea, which drove the water towards Finland and the Baltics. The result was flooding there and extreme low water at the Danish-German coasts. From the North Sea were able to flow large amounts of water in the Western Baltic. Suddenly, now a hurricane reinforced storm turned to the northeast and drove the waters back to the southwest. Since the water was slowly flow back into the North Sea, surprised on the morning of November 13, 1872 big waves coastal communities and led to several meters of flooding in the coastal towns.

Short-term effects

Of all the German coastal places Eckernförde was due to its location on the open far northeast Eckernförder bay the heaviest damages. The entire city was flooded, 78 houses were destroyed and 138 damaged and 112 families were left homeless. In Mecklenburg Vorpommern and 32 people came ashore by the storm flood killed. The Danish island of Lolland, which today has diked areas that are below sea level, was hit hard. In the district of Greifswald Wieck almost all buildings were destroyed and nine people drowned. The ruins of the houses drove up to the city of Greifswald. Peenemünde was completely flooded. On Falster 28 people died 52 on Lolland. The Vilm was broken in its middle part in two places.

Overall, the storm flood has at least 271 people dead on the Baltic coast life, 2,850 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged and 15,160 people homeless.

Long-term effects

In this storm flood, which also Prerow far flooded on the Darß, sanded the Prerower current which the former island Zingst separated from Darß until then. 1874 Prerow power was finally filled up and secured with a dike; Zingst thereby became a peninsula.

The Koserower Vorwerk Damerow was destroyed and the island of Usedom in Koserow divided into two parts. After another storm flood in February 1874 destroyed the remains of the building and up to 60 cm thick layer of sand left behind Damerow was abandoned.

Classification

This storm flood is statistically be considered a millennium event. A storm flood of similar magnitude today would cause much greater damage, since the coastal areas were not yet as densely populated as it is today.

Since the storm flood of 1872 brought by far the highest ever measured water level in the German Baltic Sea with it, this water level, apart from some areas Bodden, used as a basis for coastal structures.

Individual high -water marks

In Lübeck- Schlutup was erected in the front yard of the house Küterstraße 4 in about 200 meters distance from the Travelodge a small memorial stone on the Baltic Sea flood of 1872, the water level mark in 2013.

High water mark at the old Travemünder Lighthouse

High water mark Red herring ( Schlei) port

High water marks from 1625 and 1872 Travemünde Old Bailiwick

High-water mark of the flood of 1872 the building of the Harbour Office Wieck ( Greifswald) ( right of the door )