Abstract
Due to the global warming, an increase in the number and intensity of flash flood events triggered by heavy rain is expected. Flash flood risk management requires the identification of regions where the occurrence of flash flood events can be expected to become more frequent. In this study, we shed light on the occurrence and characteristics of flash floods in the state of Bavaria, Germany. A discharge time series of 342 gauging stations (average measurement period 1960–2017) was investigated with regard to the past flash flood events. The catchments of the selected gauging sites range from 1 to 500 km2 and are not affected by flood retention structures. Only half of the chosen gauging stations recorded flood events, which showed a short response time and a significant flood magnitude that were typical for flash floods. This led us to the conclusion that some catchments are more prone to flash floods than others. It was found that the flash flood occurrences are not evenly distributed over Bavaria, but rather form spatial clusters in the alpine region and the Bavarian Forest. The statistical evaluation of 5,732 flash flood hydrographs for different catchment sizes further deepened our understanding of the characteristics of this natural hazard in Bavaria.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amponsah W, Ayral PA, Boudevillain B, Bouvier C, Braud I, Brunet P et al (2018) Integrated high-resolution dataset of high-intensity European and Mediterranean flash floods. Earth Syst Sci Data 10(4):1783–1794. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1783-2018
Beniston M, Stoffel M, Hill M (2011) Impacts of climatic change on water and natural hazards in the Alps: can current water governance cope with future challenges? Examples from the European ‘‘ACQWA’’ project. Environ Sci Policy 14(7):734–743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2010.12.009
Borga M, Anagnostou EN, Blöschl G, Creutin JD (2011) Flash flood forecasting, warning and risk management. HYDRATE project Environ Sci Policy 14(7):834–844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2011.05.017
Boudevillain B, Delrieu G, Galabertier B, Bonnifait L, Bouilloud L, Kirstetter PE, Mosini ML (2011) The Cévennes-Vivarais Mediterranean hydrometeorological observatory database. Water Resour Res 47(7):98. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR010353
Braud I, Ayral PA, Bouvie C, Branger F, Delrieu G, Le Coz J et al (2014) Multi-scale hydrometeorological observation and modelling for flash flood understanding. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 18(9):3733–3761. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3733-2014
Bronstert A, Agarwal A, Boessenkool B, Crisologo I, Fischer M, Heistermann M et al (2018) Forensic hydro-meteorological analysis of an extreme flash flood: The 29/05/2016 event in Braunsbach. SW Germany. Sci Total Environ. 630:977–991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.241
Chapman TG, Maxwell AI (1996) Baseflow separation—Comparison of numerical methods with tracer experiments. In: Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium 1996: Water and the Environment 96(5):539–545
Gaume E, Bain V, Bernardara P, Newinger O, Barbuc M, Bateman A et al (2009) A compilation of data on European flash floods. J Hydrol 367(1–2):70–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.12.028
Georgakakos KP, Hudlow MD (1984) Design of national real-time warning systems with capability for site-specific flash flood forecasts. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 67:1233–1239
Gewässerkundlicher Dienst (GKD) (2018) Gewässerkundlicher Dienst Bayern. Seen Wasserstand. Online available at https://www.gkd.bayern.de/de/seen/wasserstand//tabellen. Last checked on 19th Sept 2018
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2014) Climate change 2014: synthesis report. In: Core Writing Team, Pachauri RK, Meyer LA (eds) Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp 151
Kleinen T, Petschel-Held G (2007) Integrated assessment of changes in flooding probabilities due to climate change. Clim Change 81(3):283–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-006-9159-6
KLIWA (Klimaveränderung und Wasserwirtschaft) (2005) Der Klimawandel in Bayern für den Zeitraum 2021–2050. Climate change in Bavaria for the period 2021–2050. Kurzbericht
Kovats RS, Valentini R, Bouwer LM, Georgopoulou E, Jacob D, Martin E, Rounsevell M, Soussana JF (2014) Europe. In: Barros VR, Field CB, Dokken DJ, Mastrandrea MD, Mach KJ, Bilir TE, Chatterjee M, Ebi KL, Estrada YO, Genova RC, Girma B, Kissel ES, Levy AN, MacCracken S, Mastrandrea PR, White LL (eds) Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part B: regional aspects. contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp 1267–1326
LfU (Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt) (2017) Sturzfluten- und Hochwasserereignisse Mai/Juni 2016–Wasserwirtschaftlicher Bericht. Flash Flood and Flood Events May/June 2016–Water management report. Augsburg
Laudan J, Rözer V, Sieg T, Vogel K, Thieken A (2017) Damage assessment in Braunsbach 2016. Data collection and analysis for an improved understanding of damaging processes during flash floods. Nat Hazard Earth Sys 17(12):2163–2179. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-2163-2017
Lucía A, Schwientek M, Eberle J, Zarfl C (2018) Planform changes and large wood dynamics in two torrents during a severe flash flood in Braunsbach, Germany 2016. Sci Total Environ 640–641:315–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.186
Marchi L, Borga M, Preciso E, Gaume E (2010) Characterisation of selected extreme flash floods in Europe and implications for flood risk management. J Hydrol 394(1–2):118–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.07.017
Merz R, Blöschl G, Parajka J (2006) Raum-zeitliche Variabilität von Ereignisabflussbeiwerten in Österreich (spatial-temporal variability of event runoff coefficients in Austria). HyWa. 50(1):2–11
Munich Re (2005) Schadenspiegel. Risk factor of water. Spec Featur Issue 48:8–13
Ozturk U, Wendi D, Crisologo I, Riemer A, Agarwal A, Vogel K, López-Tarazón JA, Korup O (2018) Rare flash floods and debris flows in Southern Germany. Sci Total Environ 626:941–952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.172
Skublics D, Blöschl G, Rutschmann P (2016) Effect of river training on flood retention of the Bavarian Danube. J Hydrol Hydromech 64(4):349–356. https://doi.org/10.1515/johh-2016-0035
Tarolli P, Borga M, Morin E, Delrieu G (2012) Analysis of flash flood regimes in the North-Western and South-Eastern Mediterranean regions. Nat Hazard Earth Sys 12(5):1255–1265. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-12-1255-2012
Acknowledgements
The research presented in this paper has been carried out as part of the HiOS project (Hinweiskarte Oberflächenabfluss und Sturzflut) funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection (StMUV) and supervised by the Bavarian Environment Agency (LfU). Furthermore, this work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through the TUM International Graduate School of Science and Engineering (IGSSE). The authors would like to thank Davide Zoccatelli from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for providing the MATLAB code for the flood separation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kaiser, M., Borga, M., Disse, M. (2020). Occurrence and Characteristics of Flash Floods in Bavaria (Germany). In: Leal Filho, W., Nagy, G., Borga, M., Chávez Muñoz, P., Magnuszewski, A. (eds) Climate Change, Hazards and Adaptation Options. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37425-9_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37425-9_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-37424-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-37425-9
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)