Successful Small-Scale Household Relocation after a Millennial Flood Event in Simbach, Germany 2016

Abstract

International and national laws promote stakeholder collaboration and the inclusion of the community in flood risk management (FRM). Currently, relocation as a mitigation strategy against river floods in Central Europe is rarely applied. FRM needs sufficient preparation and engagement for successful implementation of household relocation. This case study deals with the extreme flood event in June 2016 at the Simbach torrent in Bavaria (Germany). The focus lies on the planning process of structural flood defense measures and the small-scale relocation of 11 households. The adaptive planning process started right after the damaging event and was executed in collaboration with authorities and stakeholders of various levels and disciplines while at the same time including the local citizens. Residents were informed early, and personal communication, as well as trust in actors, enhanced the acceptance of decisions. Although technical knowledge was shared and concerns discussed, resident participation in the planning process was restricted. However, the given pre-conditions were found beneficial. In addition, a compensation payment contributed to a successful process. Thus, the study illustrates a positive image of the implementation of the alleviation scheme. Furthermore, preliminary planning activities and precautionary behavior (e.g., natural hazard insurance) were noted as significant factors to enable effective integrated flood risk management (IFRM).

Platial mobility: expanding place and mobility in GIS via platio-temporal representations and the mobilities paradigm

“…As such, our platial mobility framework is aimed to address all stages of disaster management, namely response, recovery, adaptation and mitigation along with risk reduction. Some examples in Europe can be found in the UK (North Norfolk (The UK Coastal Change Pathfinder Programme 2012)), Germany (Simbach at the Inn (Mayr et al 2020)), Austria (Machland, Eferding, Tirol, municipality of Goefis (Schindelegger 2018)). Temporary and permanent relocations are also common in the U.S.A. Perry and Lindell (1997), where mobile homes are a more typical way of dwelling.…”

Adaptation is cost-effective to offset rising river flood risk in Europe

“…Relocation aims at reducing the exposure of people and assets at risk of flooding by moving them to areas with negligible risk (King et al 2014). Managed relocation of individuals, businesses, and infrastructure is largely ignored as a possible strategy in the EU national flood risk management policies (Mayr et al, 2020).…”

The 2021 Western Germany flood event: The value of flood risk dissemination strategies and social media

“…Germany does have a history of flood events, with the most recent and prominent being in 2013 over the regions of Elbe and Danube (Kuhlicke et al 2020 ), leading to an estimated loss of EUR 6.8 billion (Kuhlicke et al 2020 ). Moreover, another notable flood event is the June 2016 event over Bavaria (Mayr, Thaler & Hübl 2020 ). Globally floods remain a leading natural hazard that many communities remain vulnerable to (De Boer 2014 ) as the frequency and intensity is also increasing because of climate change and urbanisation, especially for those residing within delta basins, river banks and coastal regions (Haer, Bozen & Aerts 2016 ; Jongman, Ward & Aerts 2012 ).…”