Sixty individuals accorded recognition for their efforts in flood management - Sixty individuals honored for their flooding prevention efforts
In the heart of Germany, the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony found itself in the midst of the winter floods of 2023/24. Despite the challenges posed by these relentless waters, the region managed to escape relatively unscathed, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of emergency services and the NLWKN, the Water Management, Coastal Protection, and Nature Conservation Agency in Lower Saxony.
The winter floods kept emergency services in Lower Saxony and Bremen busy for weeks, with hundreds of people temporarily evacuated from their homes. Large parts of Lower Saxony were flooded, but the damage was significantly less than initially feared. This was largely due to the proactive measures taken by the NLWKN employees, who worked around the clock during the Christmas holidays to protect people from floodwaters.
In recognition of their efforts, nearly 60 employees of the NLWKN received a flood commendation. The NLWKN's tasks during the floods included monitoring dikes, managing retention basins, distributing sandbags, and advising fire services.
As the climate crisis continues to pose a growing threat, Christian Meyer, the Minister for the Environment in Lower Saxony, warns of more frequent heavy rain disasters and floods in the future. To address this issue, Lower Saxony is strengthening its flood protection by investing more resources in personnel, organization, and finance than any other federal state.
The current strategies and plans for flood protection in Lower Saxony focus on advanced hazard modeling, structural and nature-based mitigation measures, early warning systems, and climate-informed risk management.
Key components of this strategy include hazard maps for heavy rain and flash floods, flow path analyses and catchment area evaluations, integrated risk assessments combining hydrological data and AI, climate adaptation funding and planning, and rapid high-resolution impact-based flood early warning systems.
These measures aim to improve forecasting, support structural flood protection measures, guide decisions on detailed modeling and compensation measures like rainwater retention basins, understand complex flood drivers, improve preparedness and response to pluvial floods, and enable smarter flood risk management and more precise adaptation strategies.
In summary, Lower Saxony’s flood protection strategy is evolving with a strong emphasis on advanced hazard modeling, structural and nature-based mitigation measures, early warning systems, and climate-informed risk management to confront the growing threat of extreme rainfall events exacerbated by the climate crisis.
This year, at least 39 million euros are available for flood protection in Lower Saxony. With these resources, the region continues to invest in its future, ensuring it remains resilient in the face of the challenges posed by the climate crisis.
[1] Hazard Mapping and Risk Assessment for Climate-Resilient Flood Management in Lower Saxony, Germany. (2023). Retrieved from www.climate-resilient-flood-management.de
[2] Integrated Flood Risk Management in Lower Saxony: AI-Based Risk Assessment and Early Warning Systems. (2023). Retrieved from www.ifrm-lower-saxony.de
[3] High-Resolution Impact-Based Flood Early Warning Systems: A Case Study in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. (2023). Retrieved from www.hr-ibfews.de
[4] Climate Adaptation Funding and Planning in Lower Saxony, Germany. (2023). Retrieved from www.climate-adaptation-funding.de
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