The flood of June 2013 in Germany: how much do we know about its impacts?
In June 2013, widespread flooding and consequent damage and losses occurred in Central Europe, especially in Germany. This paper explores what data are available to investigate the adverse impacts of the event, what kind of information can be retrieved from these data and how well data and informati...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016-07-01
|
| Series: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/16/1519/2016/nhess-16-1519-2016.pdf |
| Summary: | In June 2013, widespread flooding and consequent damage and losses occurred
in Central Europe, especially in Germany. This paper explores what data are
available to investigate the adverse impacts of the event, what kind of
information can be retrieved from these data and how well data and
information fulfil requirements that were recently proposed for disaster
reporting on the European and international levels. In accordance with the
European Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), impacts on human health, economic
activities (and assets), cultural heritage and the environment are described
on the national and sub-national scale. Information from governmental reports
is complemented by communications on traffic disruptions and surveys of
flood-affected residents and companies.
<br><br>
Overall, the impacts of the flood event in 2013 were manifold. The study
reveals that flood-affected residents suffered from a large range of impacts,
among which mental health and supply problems were perceived more seriously
than financial losses. The most frequent damage type among affected companies
was business interruption. This demonstrates that the current scientific
focus on direct (financial) damage is insufficient to describe the overall
impacts and severity of flood events.
<br><br>
The case further demonstrates that procedures and standards for impact data
collection in Germany are widely missing. Present impact data in Germany are
fragmentary, heterogeneous, incomplete and difficult to access. In order to
fulfil, for example, the monitoring and reporting requirements of the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 that was adopted in March
2015 in Sendai, Japan, more efforts on impact data collection are needed. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1561-8633 1684-9981 |