Flood risk in Brandenburg: 14,000 addresses threatened!

Flood risk in Brandenburg: 14,000 addresses threatened!

In a recently published study by German Environmental Aid (DUH), it becomes clear that many federal states in Germany are not sufficiently protected against floods. The situation in Brandenburg is particularly alarming, where around 6.2 percent of the country area are exposed to a very high risk in a flood of the century. This affects about 14,000 residential addresses in this state, such as rbb24. With a risk of 6.8 percent, North Rhine-Westphalia is also particularly susceptible to one of the highest hazards in Germany.

What does that mean specifically? The term "flood of the century" describes a flood outflow that is statistically reached or exceeded once in 100 years. Historical data show that with increasing temperatures due to climate change, such water levels can occur more frequently. Not only in Brandenburg, but also in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony are extremely high risks. Bavaria has the highest risk grade with 8.29 points - over 65,000 residential addresses are affected. The DUH sees an urgent need for flood protection, which could often be supplemented by natural-based concepts such as the renaturation of floodplain and rivers, such as ZDF today

overall worrying situation

An overview of the flood risks shows that the dangers in ten federal states are high and often very high. Munich and the surrounding area with its numerous residential addresses in flood zones are particularly affected. In Berlin, on the other hand, there are only 151 addresses that are in the danger zone - a comparatively low risk. Nevertheless, one should keep the alarming developments in mind, especially when you consider that inadequate protective measures could endanger hundreds of thousands of people. DUH federal managing director Sascha Müller-Kraenner criticizes the current protective measures as insufficient.

Bavarian statistics is particularly impressive: 4.25 percent of the country is at risk, but the majority of the endangered addresses are here. The situation is similar in other federal states such as Saxony-Anhalt, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen, but the dangers there are also high in the corresponding overview, which illustrates the responsibility of the respective state governments.

climate change as a driver for floods

Behind all of these developments is a central factor: climate change. According to an analysis of [Deutschlandfunk] (https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/ueberschwemzen- Hochwasser-Klimawassel-100.html), severe rainfall has increased in frequency and intensity worldwide since the 1950s. This tendency is expected to continue to increase, since the average temperature in Germany has increased continuously since 1881. The warming of the sea not only leads to more evaporation, but also to increased precipitation that can flood entire regions.

Massive rain in recent years, as occurred, for example in October 2024 in the Spanish province of Valencia, led to devastating floods and confirm the urgency of effective flood protection measures. In Germany, it became clear in Germany that regions such as Bavaria and Brandenburg were also affected by heavy rains. The need to improve flood protection is becoming increasingly clear.

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has reacted and developed a new law that is intended to accelerate the construction of insulation and dikes. But critics warn that not only technical solutions are required, but also a profound strategy for the renaturation of areas and the establishment of early warning systems.

The DUH study is an urgent call to finally take flood protection seriously and take suitable measures to ensure the security of the citizens.