Consequences of the extreme flood event of august 2002 in the city of Dresden, Germany

During the floods in August 2002, the city of Dresden was the most affected area in Germany. In total, about 15% of the city was flooded, causing tremendous damage. Dresden was hit by floods of streams, the Elbe tributaries WeiBeritz and Lockwitzbach, the Elbe River and groundwater. The flood risk awareness and flood preparedness of authorities, households and companies was low. After the floods, the communal authorities in Dresden developed a new flood management concept and many households and companies were motivated to undertake precautionary measures. However, the proportion of people willing to invest in precautionary measures remains lower than in the rural parts of Saxony. Therefore, improved campaigns and financial incentives should be used to further encourage the urban people and companies to implement flood precautionary measures. Additionally, damage mitigation measures have to be maintained and preparedness has to be kept at a high level over time.