Blitz strikes: 100 -year -old tree threatens the house and chapel!

Blitz strikes: 100 -year -old tree threatens the house and chapel!

Olsberg, Deutschland - A violent lightning strike in Olsberg, in the Hochsauerland, led to a dramatic fire brigade on Wednesday evening. An approximately 120 cm thick tree trunk was split through the thunderstorm to the ground. The fire brigade feared that the 100 -year -old ash would break in two parts and fall on an adjacent house and a neighboring cemetery chapel. In order to rule out a risk to the residents, the fire brigade locked the area and evacuated the affected residential building. With chainsaws, the emergency services crushed the tree and wore the trunks aside. The assignment lasted six hours and ended in the late evening, as ksta.de reported.

Such weather events are not isolated. In East Hesse, on Saturday evening, May 5, 2025, there was a massive change in weather, which was accompanied by strong thunderstorms and falling temperatures. The regions of Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Fulda and Vogelsberg were particularly affected. There, the storms released significant damage, including due to fallen trees and floods. The B62 in Philippsthal entrepreneur had to be completely closed due to floods and dirt. In Gelnhausen, too, fallen trees required evacuations because a electricity mast was in danger of collapsing. According to reports from osthessen-news.de

extensive damage and injured in several federal states

The storm week not only presented Hesse, but also several other federal states with enormous challenges. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Thuringia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, there were numerous operations due to gusts of wind, heavy rain and the associated chaos. Injuries were reported in various regions: in Trier, a tree crown fell on two cars, with a driver being caught. In Central Hesse, two young men suffered injuries from a falling tree. There were also incidents in Darmstadt in which three people were slightly injured at a street food festival, as a tent, such as Wetter.com

In Fulda, for example, a fallen tree provided the locked access to a hotel, which affected 60 guests. The fire brigade had to cope with over 200 missions in Hessen. It was also registered that in some regions such as Lauterbach and in the Lahn-Dill district, the damage balance is considerable due to the thunderstorms. The situation was extremely serious, as was necessary in Lower Franconia and the Rhön up to 50 missions, but fortunately without injuries.

The storms kept numerous regions in Germany in suspense and illustrated the danger that comes from such extreme weather events. It remains to be seen which further measures the authorities will take to ensure the safety of the population and to minimize future incidents.