Assessment of the 2021 summer flood in Central Europe

Lehmkuhl, Frank; Schüttrumpf, Holger; Schwarzbauer, Jan; Brüll, Catrina; Dietze, Michael; Letmathe, Peter; Völker, Carolin; Hollert, Henner

doi:10.1186/s12302-022-00685-1

Cited by 58 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…During floods, LW poses a hazard for impacts at instream structures [36,85] but also bridge scour and backwater effects in case of LW accumulations [33,57,76,89]. Incidents involving wood in transit and damage due to LW accumulations at critical instream infrastructure are increasingly reported all over the world, and thus require more attention and an improved understanding of intrinsic movement dynamics of LW during floods [20,29,44,91].…”

Section: Large Wood (Lw) In Fluvial Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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SmartWood: field-based analysis of large wood movement dynamics using inertial measurement units (IMUs)

Spreitzer,

Schalko,

Boes

et al. 2024

Environ Sci Eur

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Wood plays an important ecological role in rivers. Yet challenges arise when large wood (LW) is mobilised and transported during floods. Due to a lack of quantitative data, movement behaviour of LW during floods is still not well understood to date. A proof-of-concept study was conducted at three Swiss rivers to test state-of-the-art sensor-tagged logs, so-called “SmartWood” and collect quantitative field-scale data about LW movement behaviour. The experiments utilised innovative inertial measurement units (IMUs), which have been developed at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) at ETH Zurich and implanted into wood logs (SmartWood) at prototype scale. Each IMU comprised three individual sensors (gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer) and was equipped with an on-board processor, an AA battery (4.35 V), a memory (8 MB), and a Wi-Fi transmitter (100 m) for data transfer. After successful initial verification tests of the sensors, the IMUs were installed into debranched wood logs, measuring 4.35 m in length and 0.33 m in diameter. At the time of the field experiments, each SmartWood-log weighted between 170 and 220 kg, yielding a density of roughly 500 kg∙m−3. At the Limmat, Thur, and Grosse Melchaa Rivers in Switzerland, innovative yet discontinuous data were obtained. Results revealed consistent movement dynamics across all field sites. Specifically, we observed positive yaw movement during transport of SmartWood along the left river bank and negative yaw movement along the right river bank. Furthermore, interactions of SmartWood with channel boundaries, riparian vegetation, and objects (e.g., ferry dock) were registered and quantified, even when the SmartWood-log was transported out of sight of traditional sensing methods. The conducted field experiments enabled the initial testing of SmartWood in the field and exposed critical limitations of the IMUs and software algorithms for the reconstruction and analysis of floating LW dynamics. The gained knowledge and introduced sensing method will benefit the quantitative assessment of LW dynamics in rivers to maintain safety and functionality for instream structures (e.g., considering LW movement dynamics for the robust design of LW retention and guiding structures), but also river restoration projects and numerical models that rely on quantitative field-scale data.

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Section: Large Wood (Lw) In Fluvial Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of three rivers in Switzerland were selected for SmartWood experiments in the course of the present study. All experiments were conducted after heavy precipitation events in the summer of 2021, which has led to severe flooding in central Europe [44].…”

Section: Field Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

SmartWood: field-based analysis of large wood movement dynamics using inertial measurement units (IMUs)

Spreitzer,

Schalko,

Boes

et al. 2024

Environ Sci Eur

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“…Vice versa, the question arose whether recent drought measures may have intensified the summer flood. Furthermore, the floods of 2021 called for an improved and better-aligned transnational approach of river flooding and river management (Lehmkuhl et al, 2022) and more focus on regional small rivers that are not protected by dikes. Additionally, it is important to mention that the Meuse river itself did not flooda success story of the flood policy program 'Room for the River'.…”

Section: VImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With these droughts on our minds, the contrast to the 2021 summer floods in the Ahr, Erft, Meuse, and its tributaries in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands was large. These floods were caused by 2 days of extreme rainfall on hilly terrain and led to more than 200 fatalities and severe infrastructural damage (Kreienkamp et al, 2021;Faranda et al, 2022;Lehmkuhl et al, 2022). This string of very impactful hydrometeorological events, on both sides of the flood-drought spectrum, reminded policymakers and citizens that climate change is a reality and that increases in both droughts and floods require a shift in water management solutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing water across the flood-drought spectrum – experiences from and challenges for the Netherlands

Bartholomeus,

van der Wiel,

van Loon

et al. 2023

Camb. prisms Water

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Recent impactful hydrometeorological events, on both the extreme wet and dry side of the spectrum, remind policymakers and citizens that climate change is a reality and that a shift in water management solutions is required. A selection of policy-shaping events in the Netherlands shows that both floods and droughts have occurred historically and continue to occur, causing significant impacts and challenges for water resources management. For decades, water management in the Netherlands has focused on implementing flood prevention policies, mostly prompted by specific events. The occurrence of droughts did not lead to comparable significant transitions in water management. The bias toward adaptation measures on the wet part of the spectrum (i.e., floods), increases vulnerability to dry extremes (i.e., droughts) as experienced in 2018-2020 and 2022. A required long-term, integral vision to rethink the existing water management system is challenging as droughts and floods act on different time scales. Furthermore, there is a fierce competition for land use and water use functions. 'Transformation pathways', applied across the full flood-drought spectrum, could provide a valuable framework in the development toward a sustainable management of water resources, involving stakeholders for just and equitable transitions and translating long-term visions into pathways for action. Impact statementHydrometeorological extreme events, that is, floods and droughts, have major impacts on ecosystems and sectoral water uses such as shipping, agriculture, industry, energy, and drinking water. From looking back on a selection of historical events in the Netherlands, we learn that significant changes in policy and measures have been implemented in response to extreme hydrological events, especially with regards to floods. However, from recent extreme drought (2018)(2019)(2020) 2022) and flood conditions (2021) and future climate projections, it has become clear that optimization of the current water management system will not suffice. A transformation is needed to deal with future hydrological extremes, requiring modifications in water system, water management, water use, and governance. We need to design, manage, and use the water system in a way that resilience to both floods and droughts is increased. This requires methods and tools to stress-test the system for both extremes, and knowledge of measures that reduce both risks. In regional adaptation strategies, the full flood-drought spectrum should be managed in a balanced way. A transformation of the current water system and water management will not always and at all locations be beneficial for all sectors. Stakeholder interactions are needed for just and equitable transitions and for translating long-term visions into concrete pathways for action.

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“…Besides coastal communities, many inland areas are also at risk of higher levels of extreme flooding due to climate change, as a result of increased pluvial and fluvial flood risk (IPCC, 2022;Merz et al, 2021). As a case in point, recently, extreme precipitation events caused unprecedented flood disasters in Northwest Europe (2021) and Pakistan (2022) (Lehmkuhl et al, 2022;Nanditha et al, 2023), and research has shown that these events are (partly) attributed to climate change (Otto et al, 2023;Tradowsky et al, 2023).…”

Section: Sea-level Rise and Extreme Flooding Under Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Floods of movement

Duijndam

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Climate change and associated sea-level rise are expected to increase flood risk in many regions, impacting millions of people by impairing human safety and causing damage to agriculture, properties, and critical infrastructure. Migration to safer areas is one way for people to adapt to flood risk and presents an enormous policy challenge given the number of people affected. The main goal of this Thesis is to conduct novel empirical research to better understand the factors driving migration in different contexts. These empirical insights are critical for anticipatory policymaking and management of flood-induced migration, for improving migration forecasting, and for guiding vulnerability and resilience in the face of climate change. The first research chapter of this dissertation presents a systematic literature review that examines the existing (quantitative) empirical literature on how migration behavior is shaped by flood risk and other sea-level rise-related hazards. It reveals that existing empirical research finds mixed effects for the influence of flooding on migration. Floods sometimes decrease migration in lower-income contexts, possibly due to the financial resource depletion that they cause. The chapter also outlines a comprehensive research agenda for future research on the topic. A main limitation of existing empirical studies on flood risk and migration is that they focus on the influence of past flood events. Although learning from the past gives us important insights, the dynamics of migration and its drivers are likely to change considerably under increased flood risk from climate change and sea-level rise. Consequently, we miss a solid empirical understanding of migration under increased flood risk. To address this research gap and fulfill the main goal of this dissertation, the second, third, and fourth research chapters of this dissertation present empirical research on drivers of migration under increased flood risk, each contributing in their own way to key research gaps in the literature. In the research presented in these chapters, originally collected household survey data are analyzed from close to 5,000 respondents from six different countries with varying socio-economic contexts worldwide (Vietnam, The Netherlands, Argentina, France, Mozambique and the United States). Some universal findings on migration under increased flood risk are found in these chapters. First, migration intentions are lower in the lower/middle-income countries studied than in higher-income countries. Second, in all six researched case studies, migration intentions increased considerably under scenarios of increased flood risk. Third, the large majority of respondents, more than 90% in all studied countries, report that they would migrate internally within country borders instead of internationally. Fourth, the implementation of in-situ adaptation measures, another sensible approach for households to protect themselves against increased flood risk, is generally (strongly) associated with lower migration intentions. The three chapters also provide specific findings. Chapter 2 studies migration under increased flood risk in a context of vulnerable coastal livelihoods in Vietnam showing that social capital as well as past experiences during flooding such as evacuation and receiving aid are strong predictors of migration intentions. Chapter 3 compares drivers of migration and in-situ adaptation in a context of unique extreme flood experience in the Netherlands, showing that in-situ adaptation is mostly related to cognitive factors whereas migration is driven by flood-related emotions. Personal flood experience drives both behaviors. Finally, Chapter 4 provides a unique comparative study on migration under increased flood risk, researching determinants of migration under different flood risk scenarios in Argentina, France, Mozambique, and the United States. Our results have important implications for policy. Besides others, this Thesis discusses how policymakers should anticipate and plan for increased migration from flood risk, consider supporting in-situ flood adaptation to reduce migration needs, and incorporate that migration behavior is context-specific.

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Assessment of the 2021 summer flood in Central Europe

Cited by 58 publications

References 9 publications

SmartWood: field-based analysis of large wood movement dynamics using inertial measurement units (IMUs)

SmartWood: field-based analysis of large wood movement dynamics using inertial measurement units (IMUs)

Managing water across the flood-drought spectrum – experiences from and challenges for the Netherlands

Floods of movement

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