UFM-HH - Urban Flood Management in Hamburg: New Planning Strategies for Flood Prone Urban Areas to Cope with the Increased Risk due to Climate Change
Background and Goals
The climate change will lead to more extreme weather conditions in Hamburg. The occurrence of extreme weather conditions and the increasingly intensive use of flood-prone areas leads to an increased residual risk behind the defence structures. While the cities have thus far placed their trust in dyke safety when carrying out new developments, a paradigm shift appears to be called for, so that the eventuality of overstressing and subsequent failure of the defence systems can also be taken into account in the development plans and emergency management of these areas. To this end, the principles of preventive flood protection must be applied more stringently in urban planning, which calls for a coordinated land use strategy that considers flood risks. The information policy and precaution strategies must take natural catastrophes into account, so that the communities concerned are encouraged to adopt building and behavioural practices adapted to the possibility of flood events on their own initiative.
The project aims to:
- Review the current practices of spatial planning and preventive flood management of such urban areas that lie in flood-prone zones, in the sense of the ""Act to Improve Preventive Flood Control"";
- Locate and quantify the risks and weaknesses of these practices in the event of floods caused by the climate change;
- Research new methods and strategies for urban planning, building precautions and civil protection that will protect against extraordinary storm surge events attributable to global warming that lead to the overstressing of existing flood defence systems.
Content time
toResearch area/region
Country
- Germany
Region of implementation (all German federal states)
- Hamburg
Natural spatial classification
- North-West German lowland
Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change
Step 1: Understand and describe climate change
Approach and results
No climate scenarios are used;
rather, storm surges are examined as extreme events that will increase in their intensity due to the climate change.
Parameter (climate signals)
- Sea level rise und storm surges
Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact
Approach and results
The climate effect considered is the increase in extreme weather conditions and resultant extreme storm surges that may lead to failure of the coastal defence systems.
Step 2b: Identify and assess risks - Vulnerability, risks and chances
Approach and results
Vulnerability is studied in the context of the susceptibility of buildings and infrastructure to flood events.
Step 3: Develop and compare measures
Measures and/or strategies
Background: The increase of the residual risk due to the climate change and intensive land use requires a paradigm shift, so that the eventuality of overstressing and subsequent failure of the defence systems can also be taken into account in the development plans and emergency management of the protected areas (principles of preventive flood protection).
Sensitivity matrices are to be established to locate and quantify the risks and weaknesses of the current flood management practices, with which the degree of damage mitigation can be assessed for individual preventive measures (so-called "resilience performance indicator" method). Furthermore, cost-effective and easily implemented "wet-proofing" measures will be developed for flood-prone areas, and integrated in a resilience concept for certain building types and exposure conditions.
The aims are to preserve the possibilities for living in flood-prone areas, to develop settlement structures, building designs, and land use strategies that take possible floods into account, to align the information policy and precaution strategies with the possibility of natural catastrophes, to encourage the communities concerned to adopt building and behavioural practices adapted to the possibility of flood events on their own initiative, and to research new methods and strategies for urban planning, building precautions and civil protection. In addition, a decision support system (DSS) will be developed and an integrative, internet-based information system will be created, for example, for evacuation measures and escape routes and for improving the performance of the early warning and alarm systems.
Step 4: Plan and implement measures
Costs of the measures
monetary valuation of the risks of flooding
Participants
Funding / Financing
BMBF-funded programme "Risk Management of Extreme Flood Events" (RIMAX)
Project management
Institute of River and Coastal Engineering, TU Hamburg-Harburg
Cooperation/Partners
- HafenCity University Hamburg, Institute for City, Regional and Environmental Planning;
- Björnsen Beratende Ingenieure GmbH, Koblenz.
Administration (involved as observers):
- Urban Development and Environment Agency, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Foreign partners:
- City of Dordrecht (Netherlands),
- Waterschap Hollandse Delt (Netherlands),
- Delft Hydraulics (Netherlands),
- Dura Vermeer Business Development BV (Hoofddorp, Netherlands),
- Environmental Agency (Great Britain)
Contact
Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg
Institut für Wasserbau
Denickestraße 22
D-21073 Hamburg
