Do we learn from our floods?

JCAR ATRACE researchers visited the affected region and were reminded by authorities and researchers of the top priority: damage repair. It was particularly appreciated that Professor Schüttrumpf (RWTH Aachen) openly shared his experiences of the recovery process in the Ahr valley. He also presented a figure highlighting the deadliest European floods of the past 30 years. The 2021 and 2024 disasters stand out as the most catastrophic by far. I draw no conclusion from this about any trends due to climate change. But what makes me feel uneasy is mainly the trend I cannot discern.

Despite the substantial strides we have made in science and technology over the past decades. To name just a few: with comparable accuracy, we now predict the weather 4 days ahead, where 30 years ago it was one day; we simulate river discharges better on a daily basis than then on a monthly basis; we now make flood maps at 10m resolution with greater reliability than then at 1,000m; and we are now able to provide targeted warnings within minutes, back then it was many hours with hardly any targeted directions. 

As scientists, we have a duty to increase our knowledge and technical capabilities. I also think we should make suggestions to society on how to deploy this, what can and cannot be done well with it. But it cannot come from one side. From the receiving end, there should also be genuine interest, and a willingness to learn from events happening outside one's region. If we take the example of flood recovery. Only very recently there have been such major floods in Europe that large-scale recovery is necessary. Let's make every effort to jointly give direction on how to shape this recovery.