The Greens and the Ministry of the Environment are exchanging blows about precautions against the bad consequences that threaten in Bavaria as a result of the increasingly frequent heavy rains and flash floods. “The many fatalities and billions in damage in 2021 in the disaster in the Ahr Valley have shown how fatal flash floods can be,” says Ludwig Hartmann, head of the Greens in the state parliament. “That’s why we absolutely have to prepare better.”
From his point of view, so-called heavy rain risk maps are an important building block. Four federal states already have such cards, and according to Hartmann, eight more want to follow suit by the end of the year. Bavaria is not among them and has not even wanted to publish important preparatory work. “That’s negligent,” says Hartmann. “For years, the state government has kept its knowledge under wraps as to whether people live in a direct danger zone for flash floods.” In the worst case, they could be hit unprepared by a flash flood.
Heavy rain hazard maps show on a small scale where there is a risk of flooding in the mostly isolated heavy rains and, above all, where strong currents are to be expected. From the point of view of experts, they are an important tool for planning and implementing countermeasures such as small retention basins or local drainage corridors. Heavy rainfall is becoming more and more common in Bavaria as a result of global warming.
In the Upper Franconian town of Bad Berneck, for example, 120 liters of rain per square meter recently fell within a few hours. That was a third more than the long-term average for the whole of June. The consequences of such events are local floods, which build up within a few hours and dissipate just as quickly and can cause major damage or even cost lives. The water management administration has been creating heavy rain hazard maps for the Free State for some time.
That is why the Ministry of the Environment does not accept the criticism. “We are currently working on the publication of a Bavaria-wide information map,” says a spokesman. “The draft is already available for inspection by interested communities.” In addition, the Free State promotes municipal concepts for the defense against flash floods with up to 75 percent of the costs. Around 200 municipalities have currently applied for funds totaling 20 million euros. Money for further funding applications will be made available, said the spokesman.
In total, the Free State has spent more than two billion euros on flood protection since 2013, and another two billion euros are to be invested by 2030. For the Greens in the Landtag, however, money is not enough. They are also calling for more staff in the water management offices so that preventive measures can be implemented more quickly and efficiently.