Articles | Volume 13, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-731-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-731-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Data description paper
| 
02 Mar 2021
Data description paper |
| 02 Mar 2021
| 02 Mar 2021
Inventory of dams in Germany
Gustavo Andrei Speckhann
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Institute for Environmental Sciences and Geography, University of
Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
Heidi Kreibich
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Bruno Merz
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Institute for Environmental Sciences and Geography, University of
Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
Related authors
No articles found.
Apoorva Singh, Ravikumar Guntu, Nivedita Sairam, Kasra Rafiezadeh Shahi, Anna Buch, Melanie Fischer, Chandrika Thulaseedharan Dhanya, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 103–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-103-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-103-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We develop novel probabilistic models to estimate flash flood losses of companies and households in Germany. Using multiple flash flood events, we identify key drivers of flash floods loss. FLEMO flash model reveals that for companies, the effectiveness of emergency measures is crucial in mitigating losses. In contrast, household benefit more from knowledge about emergency action, suggesting adaptation strategies can effectively reduce flash flood losses.
Marc Lennartz, Benjamin Poschlod, and Bruno Merz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6419, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6419, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).
Short summary
Short summary
Predicting hourly rainfall extremes under climate change is crucial yet highly uncertain. Using convection-permitting climate model data over Germany, we compare stationary and non-stationary GEV and sMEV methods. Results show that the sMEV approach exhibits lower uncertainty across return periods. Moreover, the non-stationary sMEV better captures climate-change-induced changes, though care is needed when projecting future extremes.
Aaron Buhrmann, Cecilia I. Nievas, Nivedita Sairam, James E. Daniell, Heidi Kreibich, and Seth Bryant
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5172, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5172, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).
Short summary
Short summary
Our research lays the groundwork for the next generation of disaster risk modelling by improving how building-level value and use are estimated across Germany. By testing multiple data sources and methods, we identify a transparent, adaptable approach that enhances forecasts of damage and recovery—helping protect lives, property, and communities.
Tarun Sadana, Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, Dirk Eilander, Bruno Merz, Hans de Moel, Tim Busker, Veerle Bril, and Jens de Bruijn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4387, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4387, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated a global flood model using satellite data from 499 historical flood events across 96 countries. Our study shows that larger upstream river basins are modelled more accurately, while using observed river gauges and high-resolution elevation data can improve results. Our findings highlight the importance of large-scale validation and sensitivity analyses to enhance future global flood hazard assessments and prediction accuracy.
Alina Bill-Weilandt, Nivedita Sairam, Dennis Wagenaar, Kasra Rafiezadeh Shahi, Heidi Kreibich, Perrine Hamel, and David Lallemant
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3706, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3706, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Flooding is a major cause of agricultural loss globally. We introduce a framework for developing and evaluating flood damage models for crops. The study presents the most comprehensive review of such models for rice to date and offers practical guidance on model selection and expected errors when transferring models across regions. We provide models and lookup tables that can be used in flood risk assessments in rice-producing regions.
Xiaoxiang Guan, Viet Dung Nguyen, Paul Voit, Bruno Merz, Maik Heistermann, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3075–3086, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3075-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3075-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated a multi-site stochastic regional weather generator (nsRWG) for its ability to capture the cross-scale extremity of heavy-precipitation events (HPEs) in Germany. We generated 100 realizations of 72 years of daily synthetic precipitation data. The performance was assessed using WEI and xWEI indices, which measure event extremity across spatiotemporal scales. The results show that nsRWG simulates the extremity patterns of HPEs well, although it overestimates short-duration small-extent events.
Kasra Rafiezadeh Shahi, Nivedita Sairam, Lukas Schoppa, Le Thanh Sang, Do Ly Hoai Tan, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2845–2861, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2845-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2845-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) faces severe flood risks from climatic and socio-economic changes, requiring effective adaptation solutions. Flood loss estimation is crucial, but advanced probabilistic models accounting for key drivers and uncertainty are lacking. This study presents a probabilistic flood loss model with a feature selection paradigm for HCMC’s residential sector. Experiments using new survey data from flood-affected households demonstrate the model's superior performance.
Anna Buch, Dominik Paprotny, Kasra Rafiezadeh Shahi, Heidi Kreibich, and Nivedita Sairam
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2437–2453, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2437-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2437-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Many households in Vietnam depend on revenue from micro-businesses (shop houses). However, losses caused by regular flooding are not modelled. Business turnover, building age, and water depth were found to be the main drivers of flood losses of micro-businesses. We built and validated probabilistic models (non-parametric Bayesian networks) that estimate flood losses of micro-businesses. The results help with flood risk management and adaption decision making for micro-businesses.
Sergiy Vorogushyn, Li Han, Heiko Apel, Viet Dung Nguyen, Björn Guse, Xiaoxiang Guan, Oldrich Rakovec, Husain Najafi, Luis Samaniego, and Bruno Merz
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2007–2029, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2007-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2007-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The July 2021 flood in central Europe was one of the deadliest floods in Europe in the recent decades and the most expensive flood in Germany. In this paper, we show that the hydrological impact of this event in the Ahr valley could have been even worse if the rainfall footprint trajectory had been only slightly different. The presented methodology of spatial counterfactuals generates plausible unprecedented events and helps to better prepare for future extreme floods.
André Felipe Rocha Silva, Julian Cardoso Eleutério, Heiko Apel, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1501–1520, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1501-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1501-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This work uses agent-based modelling to evaluate the impact of flood warning and evacuation systems on human losses during the 2021 Ahr Valley flood in Germany. While the first flood warning with evacuation instructions is identified as timely, its lack of detail and effectiveness resulted in low public risk awareness. Better dissemination of warnings and improved risk perception and preparedness among the population could reduce casualties by up to 80 %.
Ravi Kumar Guntu, Guilherme Samprogna Mohor, Annegret H. Thieken, Meike Müller, and Heidi Kreibich
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1715, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1715, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The 2021 flood in Germany caused severe damage to companies, with over half reporting losses above €100,000. Using probabilistic models, we identify key factors driving direct damage and business interruption. Water depth, flow velocity and company exposure were key factors, but preparedness played a crucial role. Companies that took good precaution recovered faster. Our findings stress the value of early warnings and risk communication to reduce damage from unprecedented flood events.
Xiaoxiang Guan, Baoying Shan, Viet Dung Nguyen, and Bruno Merz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1509, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1509, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding and predicting extreme floods is crucial for reducing disaster risks, yet existing models struggle with unprecedented events. We tested multiple modeling approaches across 400+ river catchments in Central Europe and found that deep learning models outperform traditional methods but still underestimate extreme floods. Our findings suggest that combining data-driven models with physical knowledge can improve flood predictions, helping communities better prepare for future extremes.
Maurice W. M. L. Kalthof, Jens de Bruijn, Hans de Moel, Heidi Kreibich, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1013–1035, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1013-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1013-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study explores how farmers in India's Bhima basin respond to consecutive droughts. We simulated farmers' individual choices – like changing crops or digging wells – and their effects on profits, yields, and water resources. Results show these adaptations, while improving incomes, ultimately increase drought vulnerability and damage. Such insights emphasize the need for alternative adaptations and highlight the value of socio-hydrological models in shaping policies to lessen drought impacts.
Nadja Veigel, Heidi Kreibich, Jens A. de Bruijn, Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, and Andrea Cominola
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 879–891, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-879-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-879-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores how social media, specifically Twitter (X), can help us understand public reactions to floods in Germany from 2014 to 2021. Using large language models, we extract topics and patterns of behavior from flood-related tweets. The findings offer insights to improve communication and disaster management. Topics related to low-impact flooding contain descriptive hazard-related content, while the focus shifts to catastrophic impacts and responsibilities during high-impact events.
Belinda Rhein and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 581–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-581-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-581-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In July 2021, flooding killed 190 people in Germany, 134 of them in the Ahr valley, making it the deadliest flood in recent German history. The flash flood was extreme in terms of water levels, flow velocities and flood extent, and early warning and evacuation were inadequate. Many died on the ground floor or in the street, with older and impaired individuals especially vulnerable. Clear warnings should urge people to seek safety rather than save belongings, and timely evacuations are essential.
Elena Macdonald, Bruno Merz, Viet Dung Nguyen, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 447–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-447-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-447-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Flood peak distributions indicate how likely the occurrence of an extreme flood is at a certain river. If the distribution has a so-called heavy tail, extreme floods are more likely than might be anticipated. We find heavier tails in small catchments compared to large catchments, and spatially variable rainfall leads to a lower occurrence probability of extreme floods. Spatially variable runoff does not show effects. The results can improve estimations of probabilities of extreme floods.
Bruno Merz, Günter Blöschl, Robert Jüpner, Heidi Kreibich, Kai Schröter, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4015–4030, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-4015-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-4015-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Flood risk assessments help us decide how to reduce the risk of flooding. Since these assessments are based on probabilities, it is hard to check their accuracy by comparing them to past data. We suggest a new way to validate these assessments, making sure they are practical for real-life decisions. This approach looks at both the technical details and the real-world situations where decisions are made. We demonstrate its practicality by applying it to flood emergency planning.
Viet Dung Nguyen, Sergiy Vorogushyn, Katrin Nissen, Lukas Brunner, and Bruno Merz
Adv. Stat. Clim. Meteorol. Oceanogr., 10, 195–216, https://doi.org/10.5194/ascmo-10-195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/ascmo-10-195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a novel stochastic weather generator conditioned on circulation patterns and regional temperature, accounting for dynamic and thermodynamic atmospheric changes. We extensively evaluate the model for the central European region. It statistically downscales precipitation for future periods, generating long, spatially and temporally consistent series. Results suggest an increase in extreme precipitation over the region, offering key benefits for hydrological impact studies.
Dominik Paprotny, Belinda Rhein, Michalis I. Vousdoukas, Paweł Terefenko, Francesco Dottori, Simon Treu, Jakub Śledziowski, Luc Feyen, and Heidi Kreibich
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3983–4010, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3983-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3983-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term trends in flood losses are regulated by multiple factors, including climate variation, population and economic growth, land-use transitions, reservoir construction, and flood risk reduction measures. Here, we reconstruct the factual circumstances in which almost 15 000 potential riverine, coastal and compound floods in Europe occurred between 1950 and 2020. About 10 % of those events are reported to have caused significant socioeconomic impacts.
Viet Dung Nguyen, Jeroen Aerts, Max Tesselaar, Wouter Botzen, Heidi Kreibich, Lorenzo Alfieri, and Bruno Merz
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2923–2937, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2923-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2923-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study explored how seasonal flood forecasts could enhance insurance premium accuracy. Insurers traditionally rely on historical data, yet climate fluctuations influence flood risk. We employed a method that predicts seasonal floods to adjust premiums accordingly. Our findings showed significant year-to-year variations in flood risk and premiums, underscoring the importance of adaptability. Despite limitations, this research aids insurers in preparing for evolving risks.
Alberto Montanari, Bruno Merz, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2603–2615, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2603-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Floods often take communities by surprise, as they are often considered virtually
impossibleyet are an ever-present threat similar to the sword suspended over the head of Damocles in the classical Greek anecdote. We discuss four reasons why extremely large floods carry a risk that is often larger than expected. We provide suggestions for managing the risk of megafloods by calling for a creative exploration of hazard scenarios and communicating the unknown corners of the reality of floods.
Seth Bryant, Heidi Kreibich, and Bruno Merz
Proc. IAHS, 386, 181–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-386-181-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-386-181-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study found that simplifying data in flood risk models can introduce errors. We tested 344 damage functions and found errors up to 40 % of the total asset value. This means large-scale flood risk assessments may have significant errors due to the modelling approach. Our research highlights the need for more attention to data aggregation in flood risk models.
Elena Macdonald, Bruno Merz, Björn Guse, Viet Dung Nguyen, Xiaoxiang Guan, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 833–850, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-833-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-833-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In some rivers, the occurrence of extreme flood events is more likely than in other rivers – they have heavy-tailed distributions. We find that threshold processes in the runoff generation lead to such a relatively high occurrence probability of extremes. Further, we find that beyond a certain return period, i.e. for rare events, rainfall is often the dominant control compared to runoff generation. Our results can help to improve the estimation of the occurrence probability of extreme floods.
Seth Bryant, Guy Schumann, Heiko Apel, Heidi Kreibich, and Bruno Merz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 575–588, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-575-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A new algorithm has been developed to quickly produce high-resolution flood maps. It is faster and more accurate than current methods and is available as open-source scripts. This can help communities better prepare for and mitigate flood damages without expensive modelling.
Heidi Kreibich, Kai Schröter, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Anne F. Van Loon, Maurizio Mazzoleni, Guta Wakbulcho Abeshu, Svetlana Agafonova, Amir AghaKouchak, Hafzullah Aksoy, Camila Alvarez-Garreton, Blanca Aznar, Laila Balkhi, Marlies H. Barendrecht, Sylvain Biancamaria, Liduin Bos-Burgering, Chris Bradley, Yus Budiyono, Wouter Buytaert, Lucinda Capewell, Hayley Carlson, Yonca Cavus, Anaïs Couasnon, Gemma Coxon, Ioannis Daliakopoulos, Marleen C. de Ruiter, Claire Delus, Mathilde Erfurt, Giuseppe Esposito, Didier François, Frédéric Frappart, Jim Freer, Natalia Frolova, Animesh K. Gain, Manolis Grillakis, Jordi Oriol Grima, Diego A. Guzmán, Laurie S. Huning, Monica Ionita, Maxim Kharlamov, Dao Nguyen Khoi, Natalie Kieboom, Maria Kireeva, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Waldo Lavado-Casimiro, Hong-Yi Li, Maria Carmen LLasat, David Macdonald, Johanna Mård, Hannah Mathew-Richards, Andrew McKenzie, Alfonso Mejia, Eduardo Mario Mendiondo, Marjolein Mens, Shifteh Mobini, Guilherme Samprogna Mohor, Viorica Nagavciuc, Thanh Ngo-Duc, Huynh Thi Thao Nguyen, Pham Thi Thao Nhi, Olga Petrucci, Nguyen Hong Quan, Pere Quintana-Seguí, Saman Razavi, Elena Ridolfi, Jannik Riegel, Md Shibly Sadik, Nivedita Sairam, Elisa Savelli, Alexey Sazonov, Sanjib Sharma, Johanna Sörensen, Felipe Augusto Arguello Souza, Kerstin Stahl, Max Steinhausen, Michael Stoelzle, Wiwiana Szalińska, Qiuhong Tang, Fuqiang Tian, Tamara Tokarczyk, Carolina Tovar, Thi Van Thu Tran, Marjolein H. J. van Huijgevoort, Michelle T. H. van Vliet, Sergiy Vorogushyn, Thorsten Wagener, Yueling Wang, Doris E. Wendt, Elliot Wickham, Long Yang, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Philip J. Ward
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2009–2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2009-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2009-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
As the adverse impacts of hydrological extremes increase in many regions of the world, a better understanding of the drivers of changes in risk and impacts is essential for effective flood and drought risk management. We present a dataset containing data of paired events, i.e. two floods or two droughts that occurred in the same area. The dataset enables comparative analyses and allows detailed context-specific assessments. Additionally, it supports the testing of socio-hydrological models.
Thulasi Vishwanath Harish, Nivedita Sairam, Liang Emlyn Yang, Matthias Garschagen, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1125–1138, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1125-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1125-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Coastal Asian cities are becoming more vulnerable to flooding. In this study we analyse the data collected from flood-prone houses in Ho Chi Minh City to identify what motivates the households to adopt flood precautionary measures. The results revealed that educating the households about the available flood precautionary measures and communicating the flood protection measures taken by the government encourage the households to adopt measures without having to experience multiple flood events.
Alberto Caldas-Alvarez, Markus Augenstein, Georgy Ayzel, Klemens Barfus, Ribu Cherian, Lisa Dillenardt, Felix Fauer, Hendrik Feldmann, Maik Heistermann, Alexia Karwat, Frank Kaspar, Heidi Kreibich, Etor Emanuel Lucio-Eceiza, Edmund P. Meredith, Susanna Mohr, Deborah Niermann, Stephan Pfahl, Florian Ruff, Henning W. Rust, Lukas Schoppa, Thomas Schwitalla, Stella Steidl, Annegret H. Thieken, Jordis S. Tradowsky, Volker Wulfmeyer, and Johannes Quaas
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3701–3724, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3701-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In a warming climate, extreme precipitation events are becoming more frequent. To advance our knowledge on such phenomena, we present a multidisciplinary analysis of a selected case study that took place on 29 June 2017 in the Berlin metropolitan area. Our analysis provides evidence of the extremeness of the case from the atmospheric and the impacts perspectives as well as new insights on the physical mechanisms of the event at the meteorological and climate scales.
Heiko Apel, Sergiy Vorogushyn, and Bruno Merz
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3005–3014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3005-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3005-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents a fast 2D hydraulic simulation model for flood propagation that enables operational forecasts of spatially distributed inundation depths, flood extent, flow velocities, and other flood impacts. The detailed spatial forecast of floods and flood impacts is a large step forward from the currently operational forecasts of discharges at selected gauges, thus enabling a more targeted flood management and early warning.
Brunella Bonaccorso, Carmelo Cammalleri, Athanasios Loukas, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1857–1862, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1857-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1857-2022, 2022
Animesh K. Gain, Yves Bühler, Pascal Haegeli, Daniela Molinari, Mario Parise, David J. Peres, Joaquim G. Pinto, Kai Schröter, Ricardo M. Trigo, María Carmen Llasat, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 985–993, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-985-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-985-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To mark the 20th anniversary of Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS), an interdisciplinary and international journal dedicated to the public discussion and open-access publication of high-quality studies and original research on natural hazards and their consequences, we highlight 11 key publications covering major subject areas of NHESS that stood out within the past 20 years.
Annegret H. Thieken, Guilherme Samprogna Mohor, Heidi Kreibich, and Meike Müller
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 165–185, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-165-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-165-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Various floods hit Germany recently. While there was a river flood with some dike breaches in 2013, flooding in 2016 resulted directly from heavy rainfall, causing overflowing drainage systems in urban areas and destructive flash floods in steep catchments. Based on survey data, we analysed how residents coped with these different floods. We observed significantly different flood impacts, warnings, behaviour and recovery, offering entry points for tailored risk communication and support.
Valeria Cigala, Giulia Roder, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 85–96, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-85-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-85-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Non-male scientists constitute a minority in the geoscience professional environment, and they are underrepresented in disaster risk reduction planning. So far the international agenda has failed to effectively promote gender inclusion in disaster policy, preventing non-male scientists from career development and recognition. Here we share the thoughts, experiences, and priorities of women and non-binary scientists as a starting point to expand the discourse and promote intersectional research.
Abhirup Banerjee, Bedartha Goswami, Yoshito Hirata, Deniz Eroglu, Bruno Merz, Jürgen Kurths, and Norbert Marwan
Nonlin. Processes Geophys., 28, 213–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-28-213-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-28-213-2021, 2021
Miriam Bertola, Alberto Viglione, Sergiy Vorogushyn, David Lun, Bruno Merz, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1347–1364, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1347-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1347-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We estimate the contribution of extreme precipitation, antecedent soil moisture and snowmelt to changes in small and large floods across Europe.
In northwestern and eastern Europe, changes in small and large floods are driven mainly by one single driver (i.e. extreme precipitation and snowmelt, respectively). In southern Europe both antecedent soil moisture and extreme precipitation significantly contribute to flood changes, and their relative importance depends on flood magnitude.
Marco Cerri, Max Steinhausen, Heidi Kreibich, and Kai Schröter
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 643–662, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-643-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-643-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Effective flood management requires information about the potential consequences of flooding. We show how openly accessible data from OpenStreetMap can support the estimation of flood damage for residential buildings. Working with methods of machine learning, the building geometry is used to predict flood damage in combination with information about inundation depth. Our approach makes it easier to transfer models to regions where no detailed data of flood impacts have been observed yet.
Cited articles
Bakken, T. H., Killingtveit, Å., Engeland, K., Alfredsen, K., and Harby, A.: Water consumption from hydropower plants – review of published estimates and an assessment of the concept, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 3983–4000, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-3983-2013, 2013.
Bakken, T. H., Aase, A. G., Hagen, D., Sundt, H., Barton, D. N., and Lujala,
P.: Demonstrating a new framework for the comparison of environmental
impacts from small- and large-scale hydropower and wind power projects, J.
Environ. Manage., 140, 93–101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.01.050, 2014.
Di Baldassarre, G., Martinez, F., Kalantari, Z., and Viglione, A.: Drought and flood in the Anthropocene: feedback mechanisms in reservoir operation, Earth Syst. Dynam., 8, 225–233, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-8-225-2017, 2017.
Bertoni, F., Castelletti, A., Giuliani, M., and Reed, P. M.: Discovering
Dependencies, Trade-Offs, and Robustness in Joint Dam Design and Operation:
An Ex-Post Assessment of the Kariba Dam, Earths Future, 7, 1367–1390,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001235, 2019.
Best, J.: Anthropogenic stresses on the world's big rivers, Nat. Geosci.,
12, 7–21, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0262-x, 2019.
Bettzieche, V.: 100 Jahre technische entwicklung des talsperrenbaus in
Deutschland, Wasserwirtschaft, 1–2, 67–72, 2010 (in German).
Bond, N. R., Lake, P. S., and Arthington, A. H.: The impacts of drought on
freshwater ecosystems: An Australian perspective, Hydrobiologia, 600, 1–14,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9326-z, 2008.
Deutsche TalsperrenKomitee e. V.: Talsperren in Deutschland, 1st ed., edited
by DTK, Springer Vieweg, Dresden, 2013 (in German).
Ehsani, N., Vörösmarty, C. J., Fekete, B. M., and Stakhiv, E. Z.:
Reservoir operations under climate change: Storage capacity options to
mitigate risk, J. Hydrol., 555, 435–446, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.09.008,
2017.
Elmer, F., Hoymann, J., Düthmann, D., Vorogushyn, S., and Kreibich, H.: Drivers of flood risk change in residential areas, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 12, 1641–1657, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-12-1641-2012, 2012.
Gernaat, D. E. H. J., Bogaart, P. W., Vuuren, D. P. V., Biemans, H., and
Niessink, R.: High-resolution assessment of global technical and economic
hydropower potential, Nat. Energy, 2, 821–828,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-017-0006-y, 2017.
Giuliani, M., Castelletti, A., Pianosi, F., Mason, E., and Reed, P. M.:
Curses, tradeoffs, and scalable management: Advancing evolutionary
multiobjective direct policy search to improve water reservoir operations,
J. Water Resour. Plan. Manag., 142, 1–17,
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000570, 2016.
Gutenson, J. L., Tavakoly, A. A., Wahl, M. D., and Follum, M. L.: Comparison of generalized non-data-driven lake and reservoir routing models for global-scale hydrologic forecasting of reservoir outflow at diurnal time steps, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2711–2729, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2711-2020, 2020.
Hecht, J. S., Lacombe, G., Arias, M. E., Dang, T. D., and Piman, T.:
Hydropower dams of the Mekong River basin: A review of their hydrological
impacts, J. Hydrol., 568, 285–300,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.045, 2019.
ICOLD: Constitution of ICOLD, Int. Comm. Large Dams, 2, 1–21,
available at:
http://www.icold-cigb.org/userfiles/files/CIGB/INSTITUTIONAL_FILES/Constitution2011.pdf (last access: 24 February 2021), 2011.
ICOLD: International Commision on Large Dams – General Synthesis,
available at:
https://www.icold-cigb.org/GB/world_register/general_synthesis.asp (last access: 20 May 2020), 2019.
Lal, P., Prakash, A., Kumar, A., Srivastava, P. K., Saikia, P., Pandey, A.
C., Srivastava, P., and Khan, M. L.: Evaluating the 2018 extreme flood
hazard events in Kerala, India, Remote Sens. Lett., 11, 436–445,
https://doi.org/10.1080/2150704X.2020.1730468, 2020.
Latrubesse, E. M., Stevaux, J. C., and Sinha, R.: Tropical rivers,
Geomorphology, 70, 187–206,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.02.005, 2005.
Latrubesse, E. M., Arima, E. Y., Dunne, T., Park, E., Baker, V. R., D'Horta,
F. M., Wight, C., Wittmann, F., Zuanon, J., Baker, P. A., Ribas, C. C.,
Norgaard, R. B., Filizola, N., Ansar, A., Flyvbjerg, B., and Stevaux, J. C.:
Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin, Nature, 546, 363–369,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22333, 2017.
Lehner, B., Liermann, C. R., Revenga, C., Vörömsmarty, C., Fekete,
B., Crouzet, P., Döll, P., Endejan, M., Frenken, K., Magome, J.,
Nilsson, C., Robertson, J. C., Rödel, R., Sindorf, N., and Wisser, D.:
High-resolution mapping of the world's reservoirs and dams for sustainable
river-flow management, Front. Ecol. Environ., 9, 494–502,
https://doi.org/10.1890/100125, 2011.
Maavara, T., Chen, Q., Van Meter, K., Brown, L. E., Zhang, J., Ni, J., and Zarfl, C.: River dam impacts on biogeochemical cycling, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 1, 103–116, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-019-0019-0, 2020.
Manh, N. V., Dung, N. V., Hung, N. N., Kummu, M., Merz, B., and Apel, H.:
Future sediment dynamics in the Mekong Delta floodplains: Impacts of
hydropower development, climate change and sea level rise, Glob. Planet.
Change, 127, 22–33, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.01.001, 2015.
Mediero, L., Garrote, L., and Martín-Carrasco, F.: A probabilistic model
to support reservoir operation decisions during flash floods, Hydrol. Sci.
J., 52, 523–537, https://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.52.3.523, 2007.
Metin, A. D., Dung, N. V., Schröter, K., Guse, B., Apel, H., Kreibich, H., Vorogushyn, S., and Merz, B.: How do changes along the risk chain affect flood risk?, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3089–3108, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-3089-2018, 2018.
Moran, E. F., Lopez, M. C., Moore, N., Müller, N., and Hyndman, D. W.:
Sustainable hydropower in the 21st century, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA,
115, 11891–11898, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809426115, 2018.
Mulligan, M., van Soesbergen, A., and Sáenz, L.: GOODD, a global dataset
of more than 38,000 georeferenced dams, Sci. Data, 7, 1–8,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0362-5, 2020.
Pan, T. Y., Chang, L. Y., Lai, J. S., Chang, H. K., Lee, C. S., and Tan, Y.
C.: Coupling typhoon rainfall forecasting with overland-flow modeling for
early warning of inundation, Nat. Hazards, 70, 1763–1793,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-0061-9, 2014.
Pekel, J. F., Cottam, A., Gorelick, N., and Belward, A. S.: High-resolution
mapping of global surface water and its long-term changes, Nature,
540, 418–422, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20584, 2016.
Poff, N. L. R. and Olden, J. D.: Can dams be designed for sustainability?,
Science, 358, 1252–1253, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaq1422, 2017.
Popescu, V. D., Munshaw, R. G., Shackelford, N., Montesino Pouzols, F.,
Dubman, E., Gibeau, P., Horne, M., Moilanen, A., and Palen, W. J.:
Quantifying biodiversity trade-offs in the face of widespread renewable and
unconventional energy development, Sci. Rep.-UK, 10, 1–12,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64501-7, 2020.
Postel, S. L.: Entering an era of water scarcity: The challenges ahead,
Ecol. Appl., 10, 941–948, https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[0941:EAEOWS]2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Quinn, J. D., Reed, P. M., Giuliani, M., and Castelletti, A.: What Is
Controlling Our Control Rules? Opening the Black Box of Multireservoir
Operating Policies Using Time-Varying Sensitivity Analysis, Water Resour.
Res., 55, 5962–5984, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024177, 2019.
Sabo, J. L., Ruhi, A., Holtgrieve, G. W., Elliott, V., Arias, M. E., Ngor,
P. B., Räsänen, T. A., and Nam, S.: Designing river flows to improve
food security futures in the Lower Mekong Basin, Science,
358, eaao1053, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1053, 2017.
Sordo-Ward, A., Garrote, L., Martín-Carrasco, F., and Dolores Bejarano,
M.: Extreme flood abatement in large dams with fixed-crest spillways, J.
Hydrol., 466–467, 60–72, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.08.009,
2012.
Sordo-Ward, A., Garrote, L., Bejarano, M. D., and Castillo, L. G.: Extreme
flood abatement in large dams with gate-controlled spillways, J. Hydrol.,
498, 113–123, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.06.010, 2013.
Speckhann, G. A., Kreibich, H., and Merz, B.: Inventory of dams in Germany, V. 1.0, GFZ Data Services, https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.4.4.2020.005, 2020.
Timpe, K. and Kaplan, D.: The changing hydrology of a dammed Amazon, Sci.
Adv., 3, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700611, 2017.
Tullos, D., Tilt, B., and Liermann, C. R.: Introduction to the special
issue: Understanding and linking the biophysical, socioeconomic and
geopolitical effects of dams, J. Environ. Manage., 90, 1–5,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.08.018, 2009.
US Army Corps of Engineers: National program of inspection of dams,
[Department of Defense], Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of
Engineers, Washington, DC, available at:
https://books.google.de/books?id=1QtaKF0RiJgC (last access: 24 February 2021), 1975.
Veldkamp, T. I. E., Wada, Y., Aerts, J. C. J. H., Döll, P., Gosling, S.
N., Liu, J., Masaki, Y., Oki, T., Ostberg, S., Pokhrel, Y., Satoh, Y., Kim,
H., and Ward, P. J.: Water scarcity hotspots travel downstream due to human
interventions in the 20th and 21st century, Nat. Commun., 8, 1–12,
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15697, 2017.
Vörösmarty, C. J., Meybeck, M., Fekete, B., Sharma, K., Green, P.,
and Syvitski, J. P. M.: Anthropogenic sediment retention: Major global
impact from registered river impoundments, Glob. Planet. Change, 39,
169–190, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(03)00023-7, 2003.
Winemiller, K. O., McIntyre, P. B., Castello, L., Fluet-Chouinard, E.,
Giarrizzo, T., Nam, S., Baird, I. G., Darwall, W., Lujan, N. K., Harrison,
I., Stiassny, M. L. J., Silvano, R. A. M., Fitzgerald, D. B., Pelicice, F.
M., Agostinho, A. A., Gomes, L. C., Albert, J. S., Baran, E., Petrere, M.,
Zarfl, C., Mulligan, M., Sullivan, J. P., Arantes, C. C., Sousa, L. M.,
Koning, A. A., Hoeinghaus, D. J., Sabaj, M., Lundberg, J. G., Armbruster,
J., Thieme, M. L., Petry, P., Zuanon, J., Torrente Vilara, G., Snoeks, J.,
Ou, C., Rainboth, W., Pavanelli, C. S., Akama, A., Van Soesbergen, A., and
Sáenz, L.: Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo,
and Mekong, Science, 351, 128–129,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7082, 2016.
World Commission on Dams: Dams and development: A new framework for
decision-making Overview of the report by the World Commission on Dams,
Routledge, London, 446 pp., 2000.
Zarfl, C., Lumsdon, A. E., Berlekamp, J., Tydecks, L., and Tockner, K.: A
global boom in hydropower dam construction, Aquat. Sci., 77, 161–170,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-014-0377-0, 2014.
Zarfl, C., Berlekamp, J., He, F., Jähnig, S. C., Darwall, W., and
Tockner, K.: Future large hydropower dams impact global freshwater
megafauna, Sci. Rep.-UK, 9, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54980-8, 2019.
Zhang, Y., Zheng, H., Herron, N., Liu, X., Wang, Z., Chiew, F. H. S., and
Parajka, J.: A framework estimating cumulative impact of damming on
downstream water availability, J. Hydrol., 575, 612–627,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.05.061, 2019.
Zhao, G., Bates, P., and Neal, J.: The Impact of Dams on Design Floods in the
Conterminous US, Water Resour. Res., 56, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR025380,
2020.
Short summary
Dams are an important element of water resources management. Data about dams are crucial for practitioners, scientists, and policymakers. We present the most comprehensive open-access dam inventory for Germany to date. The inventory combines multiple sources of information. It comprises 530 dams with information on name, location, river, start year of construction and operation, crest length, dam height, lake area, lake volume, purpose, dam structure, and building characteristics.
Dams are an important element of water resources management. Data about dams are crucial for...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint