Natural or artificially created detention basins and depressions with a specific retention capacity can be used as temporary water reservoir for runoff water during heavy rainfall. They slow down the surface runoff; thus they contribute to a delay and attenuation of flood waves. They should be located at the deepest point in almost any surrounding…
If water cannot (or can only insufficiently) be prevented from entering the building, predefined flow routes in the building may help to minimise the damage. Ideally, provisions should be made for relief openings in the building to ensure that the water can flow away.
Land-use planning is an effective instrument to reduce future heavy rain risk. The heavy rain risk can decrease significantly, if changes of use, adjustments of use, restrictions of use or heavy rain-adapted construction and development in flood prone areas are considered in both phases of planning: formulation and implementation of plans. The power of the…
Potentially affected persons – esp. property owners – have to take personal provisions. However, establishment and maintenance of private protection structures is challenging and often not done on a regular basis. Authorities should promote and stipulate appropriate property protection measures at least by provision of information on web sites and written material.
All pluvial flood events with damages should be documented and analysed regarding causes and impacts. The measure includes the assessment of buildings and infrastructure concerning their usability (e.g. transport routes, water supply, waste water disposal). Collected data are the basis for compensation requests to insurance or public disaster funds (if available). Moreover, lessons learnt can…
Rain gardens are small-scale vegetated gardens used for storage and infiltration. They are typically applied at a property level and close to buildings, for example to capture and infiltrate roof drainage. They use a range of components, typically incorporated into the garden landscape design as appropriate. Under the vegetation layer is a filter bed substrate…
