Flood risk: Austria is preparing for impending tidal wave!

Flood risk: Austria is preparing for impending tidal wave!

Stubenring 1, 1010 Wien, Österreich - On May 20, 2025, the focus is on flood protection. Flood events have often led to flooded roads, fields and cellars as well as emergency evacuations in recent years. In order to counter this challenge, Federal Minister Norbert Tettschnig and Christian Schimanofsky, director of the Board of Trustees for Road Safety, present the preparations for flooding. As part of an upcoming press conference on Friday, May 23, 2025, in addition to a new survey on the population's flood awareness, a 10-point action program will also be presented.

A central point in the discussions is the role of an informed population. The high need for information to prepare for floods, as well as security measures during and after flood events are essential. In addition, an information campaign under the title "Flood - I protect myself" is announced, which is due to start in March 2025.

precautionary flood protection

An important aspect of flood prevention is that only 20 % of the natural flood areas are left on large rivers such as the Rhine, the Elbe, the Danube and the Oder. Dika -based dikes have reduced these areas in recent centuries, which means that the ability of the rivers to absorb and retain water has been significantly reduced. Flood retention areas can dampen flood waves by cutting water. These areas are therefore essential for flood protection, as reported by the Federal Environment Agency.

The Water Household Act calls for the provision of larger areas for the excess of rivers. In order to meet the serious challenges through floods, measures were decided in the national flood protection program (NHWSP), which are to be implemented in Germany after the 2013 flood events. The measures include decorations, the creation of flood polder and the elimination of weaknesses to reduce the flood stalls by 10 to 50 cm.

• planned measures in the NHWSP:
• flood polder with 825 million m³ of retention volume
• 25.011 hectares of dike rejections

natural flood protection through renaturation

renaturation measures are another key to flood protection. Historically, people lived in safe areas, but the space required since the 19th century caused poets to be built on the river bank. Around two thirds of the floodplains on German rivers have now disappeared and only 10 % are in a natural state. The renaturation of rivers is considered pioneering to defuse flood events and avoid damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The flood outflow is slowed down by natural flood landscapes, which relieves populated areas downstream. Decentralized measures turn out to be more effective, especially with regional heavy rain events. The combination of measures in the floodplain and the water can further increase the effectiveness of the flood protection and should be promoted extensively.

To ensure your own protection, self -provision is of great importance. Information about flood risk and structural adjustments should be offered more. In addition, elementary damage insurance is urgently needed because conventional insurance often does not cover flood damage. In 2021, for example, only 46 % of the buildings in Germany were insured against natural hazards.

The challenges of flooding are complex, but effective flood protection can be achieved with joint effort and informed decisions. Further information on these topics can be found in the following reports: [ots.at reports that ...] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250520_ots0037/aviso-pk-hoher-dlaerfarf- zu-top--Hochwasser-ich-schuetze-mich), Environmental Bundesamt.de offers information on the provision Flood protection, and [Environmental Bundesamt.de explains how renaturation can flood] (https://www.umweltbundamt.de/hochwasser- Derk- Denaturierung- defan).