Tuesday, August 6
2.5 million litres of water flood Gemäldegalerie catalogue warehouse
On Sunday, 2.5 million litres of steaming hot water came spilling out of a heating pipe in an administrative building of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, flooding a warehouse basement. The water is said to have reached a height of 15 to 20 centimetres, but no works of art were damaged.
The affected building was the catalogue warehouse of the publication department and, while the water did not reach even the lowest shelves, vapours from the hot water affected some unsealed exhibition catalogues. Heating pipes like these can carry water at temperatures up to 110 degrees, meaning that repair workers were initially unable to reach the damaged shaft due to hot steam. This was particularly dangerous to the museum, since high temperatures can could a rise in humidity endangering the paintings. An exact assessment of the damage is ongoing.
Although the pumping work has been completed, the network operator has stated they are still missing one million litres of water. According to the fire department, this may have spread to the surrounding streets and shafts.
