German flood risks were clearly underestimated

To better estimate flood risks, risk maps should also consider historical data. This is recommended by researchers of CEDIM—Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). CEDIM has now presented its first report on the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. As regards the role of climate change, the combination of more water available in the atmosphere and increasing permanence of general weather situations is associated with an increasing probability of extreme precipitation events.