Flood
Private flood prevention
Despite all the progress made in forecasting, early detection and damage prevention, we will have to live with flood events. The flood protection strategy combines technical flood protection on site with extensive precautionary measures.
Private precautions are an important building block in effectively preventing or mitigating damage caused by natural hazards. Three brochures offer building owners, homeowners or tenants as well as architects, engineers and tradespeople valuable information on how to take precautions against the risk of flooding.
State flood prevention
Flood protection is a state responsibility, but the state cannot take precautions for every risk. There cannot and will not be all-encompassing state protection: that is the most important message when it comes to flood prevention.
According to German water law, "any person who may be affected by flooding ... is obliged, as far as possible and reasonable, to take suitable precautionary measures to protect against the adverse consequences of flooding and to minimize damage, in particular to adapt the use of land to the possible adverse consequences of flooding for people, the environment or property" (Section 5 (2) of the Federal Water Act).
As a rule, flood prevention for built-up areas is aimed for up to a statistical flood event of 100 years.
In Aachen, all watercourses have their source in the urban area or in the immediate vicinity. This means that there are relatively few areas at risk of flooding compared to other cities and municipalities. The flood hazard and risk maps for the Haarbach, Inde, Wildbach and Wurm watercourses below Europaplatz can be found on the City of Aachen website. As floods can also occur in other watercourses in Aachen, there is also a map for flood areas in the city of Aachen, in which all known flood areas have been entered.
You can also view and download flood hazard maps and flood risk maps in PDF format under Flood hazard maps and flood risk maps. To do this, select the desired map square in the Meuse-South sub-catchment under the Haarbach, Inde, Wildbach or Wurm river basins and you can display and download the hazard or risk maps for the HQfrequent, HQ100 or HQextreme scenarios.
Explanation:
HQfrequent = precipitation event with a static probability of 10 to 20 years;
HQ100 = precipitation event with a static probability of 100 years;
HQextreme = precipitation event with a static probability of 1000 years.
At www.Flussgebiete.NRW.de you can also view and download flood hazard maps and flood risk maps in PDF format. To do this, select the desired map square from the Haarbach, Inde, Wildbach or Wurm river basins in the Meuse-South sub-catchment area and display and download the hazard or risk maps for the HQfrequent, HQ100 or HQextreme scenarios.
Explanation:
HQfrequent = precipitation event with a static probability of 10 to 20 years;
HQ100 = precipitation event with a static probability of 100 years;
HQextreme = precipitation event with a static probability of 1000 years.
Under the heading "Environment", the "Flood hazard maps (Land NRW)" and the "Flood risk map (Land NRW)" are already open. The maps for HQ100 are shown in each case. By selecting the corresponding button, you can display other probabilities or open or close individual entries.
Responsible authorities:
Further information
Flood risk management
The European Union has made "flood risk management" mandatory for its member states in the Flood Risk Management Directive; it has been transposed into German law. The aim: flood risks must be identified and permanently reduced.
The environmental administration in NRW has developed a package of measures - the Flood Risk Management Plan (FRMP) - together with the various disciplines that work in or are affected by flood protection in a region.
In cooperation with the responsible stakeholders (municipalities, districts, water and dyke associations and interested parties such as chambers and environmental associations), the Cologne district government has completed a FRMP for the water bodies classified as significant. The FRMP identifies risk areas, objectives and measures for all areas that are relevant in connection with flooding. The plan is valid for six years (period for the first plan: 2015-2021), which is then updated/updated every six years The measures are specified with priorities, responsibilities and implementation periods. The aim of the FRMP is to minimize potential damage through prevention, protection and precaution.
HWRMPs exist in Aachen for the Haarbach, Inde, Wildbach and Wurm watercourses downstream of Europaplatz.
What are flood hazard maps?
The flood hazard maps provide information on the possible extent and depth of flooding of a watercourse. The maps provide well-founded information for urban land-use planning, hazard prevention and disaster control as well as for citizens and businesses planning protective measures for their property. The maps show the extent of flooding that can be expected under various HQfrequent, HQ100 or HQextreme scenarios.
Explanation:
HQfrequent = precipitation event with a static probability of 10 to 20 years;
HQ100 = precipitation event with a static probability of 100 years;
HQextreme = precipitation event with a static probability of 1000 years.
What are flood risk maps?
Flood risk maps are based on the flood hazard maps and also show the uses threatened by flooding. They show which protected assets (human health, environment, cultural assets and economic activities) in the areas would be affected by a flood of low, medium and high probability. These maps also show the hazards for the various flood scenarios HQfrequent, HQ100 and HQextreme.
Explanation:
HQfrequent = precipitation event with a static probability of 10 to 20 years;
HQ100 = precipitation event with a static probability of 100 years;
HQextreme = precipitation event with a static probability of 1000 years.
Flood hazard and flood risk maps can be viewed on the City of Aachen's homepage in the geoinformation system . There you will also find the reading aid for flood hazard maps and flood risk maps of the state of NRW.