Flood hazard and risk maps according to the implementation of the European Flood Risk Management Directive

On the basis of the DIRECTIVE 2007/60/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION of 23 October 2007 on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks (HWRM Directive) and Section 98(3) of the LG LSA, the LHWW is tasked with developing the necessary technical bases. These are based on the integration of the directive into the German Water Resources Act (WHG 2009) and subsequently in the Water Act of the Land of Saxony-Anhalt (WG LSA 2011). The aim of the Directive is to reduce and manage flood-related risks to human health, the environment, infrastructure and property values. In addition, the Directive aims to ensure that flood hazards are taken into account in the context of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD). This is to be achieved as part of a three-stage programme, whereby the results presented here refer to the so-called second stage of the HWRM-RL, the flood risk and flood risk maps. Building on the results of the “Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment” (Level 1) already achieved in 2011 and updated in 2018, the basis of the hazard maps and risk maps for the previously identified areas, which may pose a potential flood risk, has been developed. The flood hazard maps cover the geographical areas that can be flooded in the event of floods of varying intensity (low, medium or high probability). These scenarios are characterised by an indication of the extent of flooding and classified water depths. Based on this, the flood risk maps contain the potentially adverse effects of the scenarios presented in the flood hazard maps. In this regard, information on the number of potentially affected inhabitants, the nature of the economic activities, on installations that may cause unintentional pollution in the event of flooding and potentially affected protected areas shall be presented. The results represent the current state of play as of 31.12.2021. By way of derogation from the mandatory EU-wide update in the 6-year cycle (2013/2019/2025/...), an annual update is carried out at country level. This will ensure that new findings are given directly to the public on information.