Flood protection after the flood: teaching from the 2024 disaster!

Flood protection after the flood: teaching from the 2024 disaster!

St. Pölten, Österreich - On July 1, 2025 there was a press conference in the country house in St. Pölten, led by Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, deputy governor Stephan Pernkopf and Professor Friedrich Zibuschka. The tragic events and teachings from the flood were discussed in September 2024. This flood led to five fatalities and caused immense damage of 1.07 billion euros.

A total of around 131,000 emergency services, including firefighters and employees of the army, were in action to cope with the consequences of the flood. In order to help the affected people, the flood aids in hardship cases were increased from 20 percent to up to 80 percent, which led to 359 million euros in paid funds and 23,000 processed applications.

investments in flood protection

After the flood disaster, a comprehensive balance was drawn and it is planned to invest one billion euros in flood protection by 2040. This includes the expansion of a modern measurement and forecast system and the improvement of civil protection. Professor Zibuschka, who heads a working group, emphasizes the importance of an expert report, which is intended to serve as an instruction for future measures in order to minimize the risks of flood events.

The recommendations include the expansion of flood protection, the creation of retention areas, adjustments to the spatial and building regulations and the improvement of the communication infrastructure. In addition, special devices for security and pump activities are to be purchased.

success and challenges

The state fire brigade commander, Dietmar Fahrafellner, emphasized that the network of operations was well positioned during the flood crisis, and described the fire brigade as crucial. The retention basin, such as the one in Fahrafeld, prevented significantly greater damage that would have been up to 70 million euros. These preventive measures are of great importance for future risk prevention.

Overall, the review of the flood events in Lower Austria shows that there is still a catch -up requirement in the implementation of protective measures and the adaptation of strategies. According to the results of studies of Environmental Office , the promotion of personal responsibility and risk awareness in the population is essential to future damage to minimize.