Climate change is a central and pressing issue of our time. Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall—which are characterized by high precipitation intensities—are occurring with increasing frequency. For example, heavy rainfall events in July 2021 led to numerous fatalities and enormous property damage, particularly in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Although the German Weather Service (DWD) had forecasted these extreme precipitation amounts, the impact of the rainfall—in terms of flood depths and high flow velocities in the towns—remained unknown beforehand. Similarly, there was no prior knowledge of these effects during the 2024 Pentecost floods in Saarland.

Therefore, a tool is needed to transform precipitation forecast data into flood predictions and to forecast hazards. An early warning system—enabling the implementation of property protection measures, the establishment of roadblocks, or evacuations to protect life and limb—can be provided in a timely manner if an appropriate transformation system is in place. An objective assessment of the hazard situation based on clear guidelines is particularly necessary for initiating evacuations.

Following the 2024 Pentecost floods, the KliGAS Climate Hazard Mitigation System project was therefore initiated by KoK². The flagship R&D project is the KliGAS Blies project, carried out in collaboration with the districts bordering the Blies River—St. Wendel, Neunkirchen, and the Saarpfalz District—and funded by the Saarland Ministry of the Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection. In addition, other projects have been launched with regional partners from municipalities as well as utility and waste management companies. There is also a cross-institutional working group tasked with integrating KliGAS across all interested institutions. 

For more information, visit: www.kligas.de