High water pressure increases the risk of dyke breaches

Climate crisis - High water pressure increases the risk of dyke breaches

According to an expert, the water pressure, which has already lasted for days, and rising water levels in some places are currently increasing the risk of local dyke breaches. "So far we have not seen any dyke breaches, as the technical flood protection works well and, above all, the disaster relief is excellently organized," said Torsten Schlurmann, head of the Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering at Leibniz Universität Hannover, to the German Press Agency. In many places, however, dykes have been weakened as a result of the flood situation that has persisted for days. Now that water levels are rising again after continuous rainfall, the strain on the dykes is becoming even greater.

"The dykes provide sufficient protection against flooding as long as water does not accumulate on them over a longer period of time," said the Professor of Hydraulic and Coastal Engineering. The stability of a dyke then depends on many different factors, such as how great the gradient is between the pressure caused by the water level in the river and the land side of the dyke, what material the dyke is made of and what subsoil it is standing on.

It is therefore an important task of the emergency services to constantly monitor the dykes, for example with dyke runners on the ground or with the help of drones from the air. This is because signs of a possible dyke breach can be recognized in advance. The higher the water level in the river and the longer the damming lasts, the more water is pushed through the dyke, said Schlurmann. "What can then inevitably happen is that the water washes out material from inside the dyke. The dyke then loses its internal load-bearing capacity. As soon as water seeps through the dyke and leaks out on the land side, this is a sure sign that danger is imminent."

Measures must then be taken immediately, for example by securing such areas with sandbags in so-called spring cades, a dyke defense technique. The scientist does not expect the situation to ease until the weekend.

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1. The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover, located in Lower Saxony, has a renowned Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine, and Coastal Engineering, which is leading the research on flood protection in Germany.
2. Despite the ongoing flood situation in Thuringia, no significant dyke breaches have been reported, thanks to the robust flood protection measures and efficient disaster relief efforts.
3. The German Press Agency recently interviewed Torsten Schlurmann, a professor at the Leibniz Universität Hannover, about the current flood situation and the risk of dyke breaches in Germany.
4. In many parts of the country, the continuous rain and high water pressure have weakened the dykes, putting additional strain on them as the water levels continue to rise.
5. The North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt regions, affected by the floods, are closely monitoring their dykes and taking necessary precautions to prevent any potential dyke breach.
6. As the climate crisis worsens, the frequency and intensity of floods in Germany are increasing, making effective flood protection and dyke maintenance more critical than ever.
7. The weather in Germany is predicted to remain bad, with further rainfall expected, leading to rising water levels and increased pressure on the already weakened dykes.
8. The floodplains, which serve as natural barriers to floods, are also being impacted by the continuous rain and high water levels, further complicating the flood situation.
9. The flood situations in various German states, including Thuringia and Lower Saxony, are being closely watched as the countries grapple with the challenges posed by the climate change and climate crisis.
10. The flood protection measures, including the maintenance and monitoring of dykes, are key in mitigating the impacts of floods, which are becoming more frequent and severe due to the ongoing climate crisis.

Source: www.stern.de