Balance sheet for storm "Zeynep": 100 operations in Bocholt

The storm "Zeynep" in Bocholt required 100 operations. This was reported by the fire brigade. 75 firefighters were deployed, supported by 28 employees of the Bocholt waste disposal and service company (ESB) and 28 members of the THW Bocholt technical relief organisation.

Many trees leaning

In close coordination with the fire brigade's operations centre, tree experts from the ESB checked the stability of a large number of trees on Friday evening. Particular attention was paid to trees that were leaning or had badly broken branches. Some trees had to be felled as a result. The ESB employees finished their work around midnight by felling a mighty beech tree in Holtwick, which had a so-called Zwiesel fracture. A "Zwiesel" is a rival shoot to the main trunk, which grows steeply and strongly out of it.

Tree felling on Bismarckstraße

From 06:00 on Saturday morning, a total of 22 employees from the ESB's green spaces department swarmed out to the danger spots documented the previous evening. One of the first assignments was to Bismarckstraße. ESB tree specialist Frank Wissing dropped the tree to be felled onto Theodor-Heuss-Ring at around 07:00. The work was carried out quickly with the help of a cable winch, so that the ring road only had to be closed for a few minutes at this point.

As with previous storms, there was an accumulation of fallen trees and broken branches in the north-east of the city. The areas around the cemetery and in the area of the city forest were affected. The roads Heutingsweg and In der Ziegelheide, which had been cordoned off earlier in the evening, were reopened at around 08:30 after the ESB's clearing work. ESB operations manager Sven van den Berg assumes that all road closures can be lifted on Saturday afternoon and that the areas categorised as particularly dangerous have been defused.

Caution on cycle paths

Nevertheless, caution is still required, especially in the city forest and on cycle paths. The cycle paths are littered with branches in many places. In some places it is advisable to get off your bike.

Overall, according to ESB manager Gisbert Jacobs, the people of Bocholt prepared themselves carefully for the storm and secured objects that could blow away. Only a few tents, construction site toilets and rubbish bins flew around. A children's trampoline landed in the end bed of the new cemetery car park created by the ESB.

Press releases from the Bocholt fire brigade on the storm "Zeynep

• Press release from 17.2.2022 "First interim balance"
• Press release from 17 February 2022 "Interim assessment: Low pressure system causes increased deployment"
• Press release from 18 February 2022 "Current deployment balance"