DE2 Flood protection (Germany)

http://www.geoportal.de/DE/Geoportal/Karten/karten.html?lang=de&lang=en&wmcid=64

Abstract

Flooding occurs when the water level or the flow have reached or exceeded a certain threshold value. Depending on the water level and the degree of adaptation to potential floods these can have catastrophic outcomes for the people living along the water and for economy and infrastructure there.

By the increasing population and trade density in the formerly natural flood plains the potential for damages from floods rises further. After the so-called „Christmas Flood“ in the Rhine river basin in 1993 the damages only for the German part of the territory were estimated to about 0.7 billion Euros. According to Deutsche Rück, the economic losses caused by the Elbe and Danube floods in Germany in August 2002 amounted to more than 11 billion Euros.

Improvement of the flood protection concepts by combining geospatial information with other data sources has led to increased coordination of both technical measures and measures for improving the water retention in the catchment area.

Benefits

Preventive measures for the protection of usage in flood-endangered areas and measures for the behaviour in an acute case of a flood leads to large economic savings and reduced risk for loss of lives.

Linked to

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Goal 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”
• Goal 13 “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”
• Goal 15 “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”