German journalist Sylke Tempel dies in storm
Editor-in-chief of Internationale Politik and
Berlin Policy Journal was known as one of Germany’s foremost foreign
policy analysts.
Tempel, known as one of Germany’s foremost foreign policy analysts, started her career as a Middle East correspondent in Israel, where she covered the Oslo peace process, the Intifada and the murder of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
She was a regular contributor to the newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine, the Austrian magazine Profil and the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel. Temple’s expertise made her a highly-respected and sought-after commentator on foreign policy issues, the German Foreign Policy Network said in a statement.
Tempel was hit by a falling tree when she stepped out of her car to move debris. She was 54.
“Everyone who knew her was impressed by her intellect, her spirit, her charm and her breadth of knowledge, especially when it came to questions of foreign and security policy. And her love of life, her humor,” former Israeli ambassador to Germany Shimon Stein wrote in Tagesspiegel.
Tempel became editor-in-chief of Internationale Politik in 2008. She also taught at Stanford University’s overseas campus in Berlin and was a visiting professor at its Institute for Germans studies in California.
Her death is a “great loss for us in Germany and far beyond,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel tweeted Friday.
Authors:
Carmen Paun
Berlin's fire brigade declared a state of emergency and said it had
received 50 emergency calls on Thursday as storm Xavier made its
destructive progress across the north of the country. Hamburg's fire
brigade also received hundreds of calls and issued a warning, telling
residents to stay indoors as the storm passed.
Category 3 storm warnings, on a scale that goes up to 4, were issued for much of northern and eastern Germany.
"Warning for Hamburg. Do not go outside at the current time, stay in protected areas," the fire brigade said on Twitter.
Storm
Xavier, which reached speeds of up to 115 kilometers per hour, killed
at least seven people. Five of them died in their vehicles. One woman
was killed in Hamburg (above) after a tree fell onto her car.
One
woman was killed in Hamburg after a tree fell onto her car. A man died
in his lorry in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania after a tree struck his vehicle, police said.
Police in the state of Brandenburg near Berlin later said that four people had died in their vehicles.
Transport disruption
Bus
services began to run again in Berlin on Thursday evening but a
spokesman for BVG Berlin transport said the service may not be fully
restored until after Friday morning and checks on the network had been
made.
The
German Weather Service (DWD) said the storm had reached
hurricane-strength wind speeds of between 105 and 115 kilometers (65 and
71 miles) per hour.
The storm uprooted trees and tore roofs off buildings as it crossed over three states.
Berlin's
two zoos closed and reported on Twitter that "elephants, zebras and
giraffes ... are retreating to the safety of their enclosures."
A large, heavy crane in the North Sea port city of Wilhelmshaven fell into the Jade River during the storm.
The storm is expected to move eastwards into Poland during the course of the night.
Increasing insurance claims
Last
year, German insurers paid out €940 million ($1.1 billion) to cover
claims for storm damage. The figure was 10 times higher than the
previous year when it was about €100 million. The cause of the extensive
damage was a large number of storms over a short period of time,
according to Wolfgang Weiler, head of the German Insurance Association
(GDV). For this year, summer storm damage has already cost the insurance
industry €600 million.
Trees fell in the strong winds in Berlin
Hundreds
of people were stranded as their trains were canceled in the
capital. Deutsche Bahn canceled long-distance trains to and from Berlin
as well as services in Lower Saxony, Schleswig Holstein and Bremen and
commuter trains in Hamburg.
Bremen and Hanover airports canceled some international flights.
Passengers
arriving in Berlin remained on board their aircraft as the storm swept
over Tegel and Schoenefeld airports and authorities temporarily
suspended operations.
Flooding in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
jm/msh (dpa, AFP)