• search hit 1 of 4
Back to Result List

New insights into flood warning reception and emergency response by affected parties

  • Flood damage can be mitigated if the parties at risk are reached by flood warnings and if they know how to react appropriately. To gain more knowledge about warning reception and emergency response of private households and companies, surveys were undertaken after the August 2002 and the June 2013 floods in Germany. Despite pronounced regional differences, the results show a clear overall picture: in 2002, early warnings did not work well; e.g. many households (27 %) and companies (45 %) stated that they had not received any flood warnings. Additionally, the preparedness of private households and companies was low in 2002, mainly due to a lack of flood experience. After the 2002 flood, many initiatives were launched and investments undertaken to improve flood risk management, including early warnings and an emergency response in Germany. In 2013, only a small share of the affected households (5 %) and companies (3 %) were not reached by any warnings. Additionally, private households and companies were better prepared. For instance,Flood damage can be mitigated if the parties at risk are reached by flood warnings and if they know how to react appropriately. To gain more knowledge about warning reception and emergency response of private households and companies, surveys were undertaken after the August 2002 and the June 2013 floods in Germany. Despite pronounced regional differences, the results show a clear overall picture: in 2002, early warnings did not work well; e.g. many households (27 %) and companies (45 %) stated that they had not received any flood warnings. Additionally, the preparedness of private households and companies was low in 2002, mainly due to a lack of flood experience. After the 2002 flood, many initiatives were launched and investments undertaken to improve flood risk management, including early warnings and an emergency response in Germany. In 2013, only a small share of the affected households (5 %) and companies (3 %) were not reached by any warnings. Additionally, private households and companies were better prepared. For instance, the share of companies which have an emergency plan in place has increased from 10% in 2002 to 34% in 2013. However, there is still room for improvement, which needs to be triggered mainly by effective risk and emergency communication. The challenge is to continuously maintain and advance an integrated early warning and emergency response system even without the occurrence of extreme floods.show moreshow less

Download full text files

  • pmnr659.pdfeng
    (3300KB)

    SHA-1: 29571b062319ef7ccff8e435a9b4d36faf9b07a5

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author details:Heidi KreibichORCiDGND, Meike Müller, Kai SchröterORCiDGND, Annegret Henriette ThiekenORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-418381
DOI:https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-41838
ISSN:1866-8372
Title of parent work (English):Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe
Publication series (Volume number):Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe (659)
Publication type:Postprint
Language:English
Date of first publication:2019/02/28
Publication year:2017
Publishing institution:Universität Potsdam
Release date:2019/02/28
Tag:Germany; affected residents; august 2002; circulation patterns; damage; extreme flood; june 2013 Flood; preparedness; recovery; risk
Issue:659
Number of pages:18
Source:Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 17 (2017), pp. 2075–2092 DOI 10.5194/nhess-17-2075-2017
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät
DDC classification:9 Geschichte und Geografie / 91 Geografie, Reisen / 910 Geografie, Reisen
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access
Grantor:Copernicus
License (German):License LogoCC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
Accept ✔
This website uses technically necessary session cookies. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this. You can find our privacy policy here.