Insufficient Flood Protection Sparks Concerns from Environmental Group

Recent analysis from the German Environmental Aid (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) raises alarms about the preparedness of various federal states in Germany for potential catastrophic flooding events. According to the DUH, hundreds of thousands of individuals might be at risk of flooding, with the severity of this threat varying significantly from one state to another.

The DUH has expressed concern that many regions are not adequately equipped to handle what could be classified as a once-in-a-hundred-years flood. DUH Federal Managing Director has stated that the federal states are currently taking insufficient action to protect the potentially affected populations.

As climate change progresses, the frequency of high water levels is expected to increase, making the need for enhanced flood protection even more urgent. The DUH has specifically highlighted the necessity for improvement in nature-based flood protection strategies, such as the restoration of floodplains and rivers. These initiatives could facilitate better water distribution and slow the return of water to natural reservoirs. The organization emphasizes the need for rivers and streams to have more space, advocating for water retention in healthy forests, meadows, and wetlands.

While events classified as century floods statistically occur once every hundred years, the DUH warns that climate change is likely to result in more frequent occurrences of such extreme weather conditions.

In assessing the risk of flooding across the country, the DUH analyzed the potential damage from a century flood based on the area at risk and the number of residences in danger. States with extensive flood risk areas, as defined by EU standards, combined with high residential densities in potential flood zones received higher risk ratings.

According to the report, Bavaria is identified as the state with the highest flood risk, with over 65,000 residential addresses situated in areas susceptible to flooding. The analysis indicates that in the event of a century flood, approximately 4.25% of Bavaria's land area would be at risk of significant damage to people, the environment, cultural heritage, and economic activities.

In contrast, North Rhine-Westphalia, despite having 6.8% of its land area at risk during such an event, has a significantly lower number of residential addresses--around 28,000--potentially affected.

Other states that show a high percentage of land at risk include Brandenburg (6.2%), Saxony-Anhalt (5.9%), Baden-Württemberg (4.7%), and Hesse (4.6%). The state with the lowest risk percentage is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with only 0.7% of its land area classified as at risk of flooding.

The DUH's findings are based on data from the German Insurance Association and the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute, emphasizing the need for urgent action to improve flood prevention measures across the country.