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THE MOST DANGEROUS DISASTER THREAT TO GERMANY

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In addressing the most dangerous disaster threat to Germany I checked in with the German Natural Disaster Agency, (dkkv) and from the perspective of both the frequency of disasters and the extent of damage caused by weather-related events, natural hazards in Germany are primarily storms and floods , but with that said there is also threats of extreme temperatures such as heat waves. STORMS: Storms are caused by pressure differences and can be divided into winter storms and convective storms . Winter storms usually form over the North Atlantic which is why northwest Germany is most frequently and severely affected by the. Convective storms, as a result of temperature fluctuations, can lead to heavy hail and mainly affect the south of Germany. They are more limited, but occur much more frequently than winter storms, with 10 to 40 storm days per year. FLOODS: In Germany, floods include floods caused by heavy precipitation, river floods and torrents caused for example by snowmelt or heavy ...
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GERMANY'S COASTAL EROSION RISK

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  The German Coast extends over 3700 km on both the North (1600 km) and Baltic Seas (2100 km).  According to the website, Climate Change Post along the coast large low-lying areas are already threatened by recurring storm flood events and erosion. Accelerated sea-level rise therefore exacerbates a high risk situation. Two-thirds of the 3,700 km coastline are eroding. The German coastline is mainly shallow and therefore are comprised of marsh, dune coast, or beach wall, while 11% of the coast (420 km) is steep. On the Baltic, more than half of the coastline belongs to the so-called Bodden Coast, Bodden in German translates to 'Shallow bays' and inlets cut off from the open Baltic Sea by islands, peninsulas, and narrow spits.      According to IPCC estimates global sea levels will accelerate significantly in the upcoming decades, increasing to three to four times the current rate by 2100. In researching the Think  Hazard information it is estimated for sea ...
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Germany's Extreme Weather Risk

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  This week I will be discussing the risk pertaining to extreme heat. Germany's extreme heat risk overall is rated as medium . The area of the country that is at the highest risk is the south-western part. According to the web-site Think Hazard , there is more than a 25% chance that at least one period of prolonged exposure to extreme heat, resulting in heat stress, will occur in the next five years.   In Germany from 2014-2018 there was a multi year drought, this was especially a drought of the soil. It was not due to precipitation deficits but due to high temperatures that increased evaporation of soil moisture. The soil moisture drought severity followed the same spatial pattern as that of the temperature anomalies according to the Climate Change Post web-site. MITIGATION: The German Government has instituted Heat Management protocols which includes technological adaptation, building design and/or changing working practices. It is their position that certain infrastru...
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Germany's Soils Subsidence/Sinkholes Blog

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  According to the website Research Gate, Germany has an increasing number of sinkholes that have been developing since the 1980's within large-scale depressions and are distributed over different kinds of surface materials; clayey mud, sandy gravel alluvium and evaporites (salt).  GERMANY'S SOIL SUBSIDENCE/SINKHOLES Tiny shifts in the land surface across the whole of Germany have been mapped for the first time, with the help of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar mission. As you can see in the map below, land- surface deformation, such as subsidence, often happens because of changes that take place underground such as groundwater extraction, mining, natural consolidation of sediments and rapid urbanization. As Phys.org points out this ground motion can be a major threat, in both urban and agricultural areas, where continuous shifts over time can cause, for example, damage to buildings, roads, bridges, dykes, and other infrastructure, and can cause changes in the way surface water...
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 Germany's Mass Wasting Risks RIVER FLOODING : Germany has a High level risk for river flooding. According to ThinkHazard, potential damaging and life-threatening river floods are expected to occur at least once in the next ten years. As you can see from the Map above the area colored red is a high risk which pretty much covers the whole country. The orange is for medium risk, then yellow indicates low. Out of all of the Mass Wasting Risks, for Germany this is the most significant one. LANDSLIDES; MUDSLIDES and ROCKSLIDES For Germany the risk of landslide susceptibility, mudslides and rockslides are classified as a medium level risk . According to Thinkhazard, this means from the current information available Germany has rainfall patterns, terrain slope, geology, soil, land cover and (potentially) earthquakes that make localized landslides an infrequent hazard phenomenon. As you can see above the risk for landslides in Germany on the map in yellow is very low risk , which covers t...
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WEEK 5, Volcanic Hazards in Germany   There are more than 30 volcanoes in Germany. Most of them are in the mountainous Siebengebirge and Eifel areas. Both of these areas are in the mid-west of Germany.  One particular part of the Eifel is even named after volcanoes and is called the Vulkaneifel which means volcanic Eifel. Germany's volcanoes may seem harmless now, but experts believe they could erupt one day. Of course, we should not worry too much, as by one day these experts believe that to be several thousand years away! Today the volcanoes in Germany are covered by dense forests on their slopes and clear water fills their crater lakes. Germany's volcanoes have been either been extinct for a thousand years, or are thoroughly deep sleepers. The last eruption occurred around 13,000 years ago. https://ukgermanconnection.org https://www.germany.travel.>vocanoes https://www.sciencedaily.com.laachersee Laacher See, also known as Lake Laach (pictured above) is a volcani...
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Week 3. Germany's Earthquake & Seismicity Maps

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     Hello Everyone! This week I want to share with you Germany's earthquake and seismic activity. The first map shows Germany's earthquake zones. The second map shows Germany's seismic hazard areas. Earthquakes in Germany are relatively weak, but do occur several times a year, some of them happen in the coal mining areas where the blasting triggers them.    Compared to the global scale, earthquake hazard and risk in Germany are somewhat low, but nevertheless do happen. From the Rhine River Valley in the west-central part of the country, stretching to the south, and in the coal mining area in the east of the country, minor earthquakes take place on a consistent basis.     In 2024 to date, Germany has experienced 0 earthquakes so far. This is below the average of 54.01 earthquakes per year. Based on data dating back to 1950 we can estimate that Germany is struck by 4.50 earthquakes per month.     Mitigation efforts are being pursued,...
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