YDS-2016-Spring-02
March 27, 2016 • 2 min
The floods causing damage across much of central Europe are a sign of catastrophes to strike as the continent's climate gets harsher. In the German town of Passau on 3 June 2013, waters rose to their highest level since 1501. At that time, the floods in Czech capital Prague were beginning to recede but Dresden, Germany, was preparing itself for the river Elbe to rise 5 metres higher than normal. "Several factors are responsible", says Stéphane Isoard of the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen, Denmark. "It was spring, so snow was melting from the mountains," she says. When two months of rain fell in two days, the water had nowhere to go because the ground was soaked. Climate change also causes heavier rainfall, and might be partly to blame. However, Isoard points out that bad land management is just as important. "In urban areas, there is less opportunity for water to infiltrate the soil. With more floods inevitable, Europe needs to adapt," Isoard says. Some work is already under way. Wetlands are being restored around stretches of the Danube. Green spaces like this can absorb extra water, making floods less severe. "Over the last 20 years, events like this have become more common," says Iain White of the University of Manchester in the UK. "Central Europe has improved its flood responses since 2002, but there comes a point where you can't defend," he maintains.