BMBF Project KAHR: Climate Adaptation, Flooding, Resilience

  Flooding on a railroad track, with lots of trash and trailers. Copyright: © BMBF
18/10/2023
 

The KAHR project, funded by the BMBF, aims to use the latest scientific findings to support reconstruction measures in regions in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate devastated by the flood disaster in July 2021. Until the end of 2024, the collaborative project will work with a total of 13 partners from science and practice on issues related to climate adaptation, risk-based spatial planning and flood protection. The aim is to create concrete measures for climate-resilient and future-oriented reconstruction and rebuilding in the affected regions. The project is coordinated together with the Institute for Spatial Planning and Development Planning of the University of Stuttgart. The Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management (IWW) of the RWTH Aachen University is mainly responsible for the water management analysis for the affected regions.

  Logo KAHR-Project Copyright: © BMBF

The following recommendations are based on the initial findings of the federally (BMBF) funded KAHR project for scientific monitoring of the reconstruction of the regions in RP and NRW affected by the flood disaster.
These were presented and discussed at the 1st International KAHR Science Conference on June 29-30, 2022, and in a dialogue between science, politics and administration on June 29 in Remagen:

  1. Reconstruction after the 2021 flood event also offers an opportunity to initiate a strategic transformation process and strengthen disaster resilience.

  2. All potentials of flood modeling and risk analysis should be exploited to plan protection strategies and to prepare and warn affected people.

  3. More space for the river is important, but this does not only mean settlement retreat - but also adapted land uses.

  4. Bridges must be given greater consideration in future flood hazard assessments. Bridges can significantly increase the risk of flooding during flood events.

  5. Early warning of flood events must be strengthened.

  6. The signaling function of plans and planning needs to be strengthened. Heavy rainfall hazard and risk maps must be publicly available.

  7. Flood- and climate-resilient planning and building must be integrated at all levels of spatial planning and consider all facets of climate change impacts.

  8. Sustainable reconstruction succeeds when actors establish forms of cooperation and work together inter-municipally. Funding should strengthen this cooperation.

  9. Intensive preparation of disaster management and water management for rare flood and heavy rain events improves the management of these events.

  10. New protection standards and protection goals for critical and sensitive infrastructures must be defined and awareness of unavoidable residual risk must be raised.

For more information, please visit the KAHR project website.