Businessman tells of nightmare drive across Germany as the deluge hit
A WELSH businessman has described how he was confronted by collapsed bridges, landslides and fallen trees as he tried to drive home from Germany as the country was hit by fatal flooding.
Father-of-three Craig Couzens said he “started to panic” as he had to repeatedly reroute with roads impassable and more bad weather forecast.
The devastating floods have claimed more than 180 lives with hundreds more people still missing after record rainfall triggered severe floods in Germany and Belgium. Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands were also hit by the extreme weather.
Craig was trying to drive home to Caergwrle, Wrexham, when he found himself at the centre of the chaos, NorthWalesLive reports.
The 40-year-old, a business development manager at Surface Transforms in Liverpool, was in Germany to discuss distribution deals for the high-performance brake discs the company makes for supercars such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Craig expected to be able to drive to French port Calais without any problems but the 4.5-hour trip turned into 10 hours. His attempts to flee Germany became increasingly frantic as he encountered collapsed bridges, landslides and fallen trees.
“Every road I tried to go down, the road was washed away or there were bridges down or it was completely flooded,” he said. “There were people crying and hugging each other, just standing around looking totally shocked.”
Booked into a guesthouse for three nights in Barweiler, he opted to make a break for home after hearing of friends becoming stranded near the Belgian border.
However his initial route west took him to the village of Musch, where the town’s bridge had been destroyed.
An alternative route was also blocked, forcing him to U-turn and retrace his steps through Barweiler and north.
“I drove for hours – it was a nightmare,” he said. “I was starting to panic a bit. I could have gone back to the guesthouse but I was desperate to get home knowing that more bad weather was forecast.”
Skirting debris, Craig saw destruction everywhere. Rocks and soil covered the roads while roadside barriers were ripped away. It was only by making a huge detour via Cologne and Dusseldorf that he was able to make his way to Calais.
After passing a Covid test he decided to continue his journey home rather than lay up for the night. The whole journey took him 15 hours.
“It was only when I got home that I began to realise the magnitude of what happened. At the time I probably didn’t realise the risks I was taking to get back home.
“There were one of two bridges I probably should not have gone across as the water was level with the road and flowing fast.”
Since returning home he has had time to reflect on his good fortune – and how things could have ended much worse: “I usually book my own accommodation and there’s a place in a village I often go to,” he said.
“On this occasion someone else booked my room. It was just as well as the village I normally stay in was washed away by the floods. I’ve been thinking about that quite a lot since I got back home.”