In July 2021, the storm front "Bernd" caused long-lasting heavy rainfall. Heavy rainfall refers to large amounts of precipitation that fall in a short period of time and, due to their high intensity, can lead to flooding, flash floods, backwater in the sewage system, and soil erosion. Especially in small-scale areas, flooding occurs as a result of heavy rainfall events. This led to catastrophic events in large parts of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. In some regions, more than 200 liters per square meter of precipitation were measured.
The floods claimed more than 180 lives and caused considerable damage to infrastructure, especially in the Ahr Valley. As a heavy rain event, in terms of fatalities and injuries, it stands out above all comparable disaster events to date. While the processing, analyses and lessons to be learned will still take some time, it can already be said that we are not sufficiently prepared for such events. The task now is to increase resilience to disasters, for example, by improving early warning systems, strengthening civil protection, adapting to climate change and developing a more pronounced risk culture.
Weather-related extreme events are increasing in intensity and frequency in many regions of the world as a result of climate change. In Germany, too, devastating damage caused by extreme weather such as heavy precipitation has occurred repeatedly in recent decades. The climate change-related increase in extreme rainfall events will noticeably increase the risk of flooding in the future.
More information on basic information on heavy rain as well as current press articles and publications in the context of the flood disaster can be found on the special page "Flood disaster 07/2021" of the German Committee for Disaster Reduction e.V. (DKKV).