#GERMANY FLOOD DRIVERS#

Even during extreme events like the catastrophic flood in August 2002 in Central Europe, these measures were highly effective ( Kreibich et al., 2005). For example, such property-level measures are flood-adapted building use (e.g., avoiding expensive assets in the flood-prone parts of the building), flood-proof interior fitting (e.g., by water resistant materials) or having a water pump available helps to restore flooded properties. Residents and businesses in floodplains can lower their level of vulnerability via employing protective or preparatory measures at their properties, which lower potential flood impacts. However, flood damage cannot be completely prevented by such structural measures owing to physical limitations or because such investments are not cost-beneficial ( Bos and Zwaneveld, 2017). One main avenue for limiting flood damage is through regional flood protection (e.g., levees) that aims to prevent inundation of land up to the design value of the structures, often up to a 100-year flood. Exposure is the quantity and value of people or assets located in flood-prone areas, while vulnerability captures how susceptible affected objects are to suffering damage during a flood ( Kron, 2005 IPCC, 2022). Hazard is the combination of the probability of a flood occurring and its potential magnitude. In total, 30 billion euros are provided for recovery and reconstruction in Germany alone ( Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, 2021).įlood risks can be summarized as the interaction between hazard, exposure, and vulnerability ( Kron, 2005 IPCC, 2022). In some towns, e.g., in Bad Münstereifel or Euskirchen, the inner cities and main shopping streets were severely damaged and forced the commercial sector out of business. More than 180 people lost their lives in Germany, while 38 individuals lost their lives in Belgium ( Kreienkamp et al., 2021).

Just recently, i.e., in July 2021, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands were hit by devastating floods that occurred because of heavy and continuous rainfall. Additionally, the European Environment Agency (2019) states that floods accounted for a total loss of EUR 162 billion across the EEA member states over the same period. According to Munich Re (2018), floods have accounted for 40% of disasters worldwide since 1980. These findings should be considered in business-tailored risk communication.įlooding is a significant threat for human well being, via impacts on health and economic activity. In addition, high experience with previous flood events and low perceived response costs could strengthen proactive adaptation behavior. Furthermore, property-owners tended to act more proactively than tenants.

Our results indicate that a low perceived self-efficacy may be an important factor that can reduce the motivation of businesses to adapt to flood risk.

#GERMANY FLOOD DRIVERS#

Therefore, using quantitative survey data, this study aims to identify different strategies and adaptation drivers of 557 businesses damaged by a riverine flood in 2013 and 104 businesses damaged by pluvial or flash floods between 20. However, their ability to cope with flood risk plays an important role in the social and economic development of a flood-prone region.

While the flood adaptation behavior of private households has already been widely researched, comparatively less attention has been paid to the adaptation strategies of businesses. 2Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, United Kingdomįlood risk management in Germany follows an integrative approach in which both private households and businesses can make an important contribution to reducing flood damage by implementing property-level adaptation measures.1Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.Bianca Wutzler 1 *, Paul Hudson 1,2 and Annegret H.

Germany flood