The flood situation in Germany is getting worse and the damage is enormous. What has happened to the ten-year-old federal and state flood protection program? And what about compulsory insurance?
More than ten years ago, the water levels of the Elbe and Danube rose and flooded entire cities. The “National Flood Protection Program” was seen as a response to the floods. The federal and state governments launched the program together and thus created a nationwide list of supra-regional flood protection projects.
The aim was to give the water more space in a controlled manner by moving the dykes back or creating flood polders – areas that can be flooded in a targeted and controlled manner during floods. Many things should improve as a result of the joint programme.
But now the flood situation in Germany is again becoming dramatically worse, especially in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Dikes are breaking, houses are being evacuated, towns are under water.
Flood protection as a permanent task
The problem: relatively few measures have been implemented so far within the framework of the National Flood Protection Program. Only 15 percent of the projects are in the construction phase. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the majority of the measures are still in the planning or design phase. Flood protection is an ongoing task, and the flood protection program was set up for long-term projects.
To prevent this, we need more intact nature and natural floodplains, such as relocating dikes, says Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke to tagesschau.de. “For this we also need a new flood protection law. We are already in intensive discussions with the federal states on this,” said the Green politician.
Implementation takes a long time
Although the financing of the National Flood Protection Program is secured in the long term, flood projects are becoming more expensive every year: construction costs are rising, skilled workers are lacking and permits are taking time. In order to implement flood protection projects at all, large areas are needed. But these are hotly contested. Ownership issues, land acquisition, nature conservation and compensation play a decisive role.
The consequences of climate change seem to be progressing faster than measures can be implemented. Natural disasters are occurring more and more frequently in Germany, says Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In Reichertshofen in Upper Bavaria, which was affected by flooding, the SPD politician said: “This is the fourth time this year that I have gone to a specific area of operation and looked at what is there.”
Compulsory insurance required
The damage caused by flooding is enormous. The current floods in southern Germany have sparked a renewed political debate about compulsory insurance against so-called natural damage to houses.
According to the German Insurance Association, only about half of all residential buildings are insured against natural disasters such as floods. This requires additional insurance against natural hazards – which is currently voluntary.
The demand, which comes not only from the affected federal states, is clear: a compulsory policy is needed. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder says: “We cannot simply always compensate for these losses through the state, we need a different basic insurance.”
FDP is against Compulsory insurance
The CSU politician is also of the same opinion as the other state leaders, including Malu Dreyer from Rhineland-Palatinate. The SPD politician pointed out in a conversation with the ARD Capital Studio points out that not everyone who wants to take out insurance gets one. This is because insurers shy away from the high risk or want to make expensive structural changes first. This also speaks in favor of compulsory insurance.
The Liberals are against it. FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai says: “Property is already expensive for many people in our country. Very expensive. Property would be much more expensive afterwards” – due to the additional insurance premium. That doesn’t have to be the case, say those in favor of compulsory insurance, after all Baden-Württemberg had already gained experience before compulsory insurance was abolished there 30 years ago.
Working group to make recommendations
The federal government is expecting recommendations from a working group shortly. A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, however, expressed skepticism. Also because if insurance were compulsory, the federal government would probably have to pay for the billions in reinsurance. So the Justice Ministry and FDP General Secretary Djir-Sarai are passing the ball back to the states for the time being.
After the Elbe flood in 2002, a working group discussed the introduction of compulsory insurance. But nothing has happened since then. The topic is to be debated again in the Chancellery in mid-June. Chancellor Scholz will then meet with the state leaders.