Researchers are interviewing private households in Münster and Greven about the pluvial flood event on July 28 2014

19.10.2015: The flooding on July 28 2014 is still in our minds, as the magnitude of the event in Münster and Greven was historic. Within seven hours, more than 290 millimeters per square meters of rainfall were recorded. The total damage of this event was 67 Million Euro just for the city of Münster.

Scientists from Potsdam and Hannover are now investigating this extreme heavy rainfall event in a research projected called „Real time prediction of pluvial floods and water contamination (EVUS)“. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The University of Hannover and the German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam (GFZ) want to connect causal analysis and precautionary measures.

Therefore data and facts have to be collected first. For this reason a telephone interview among private households in Münster and Greven, which were affected by the flood, will be conducted. The computer-aided telephone interviews will be carried out this October and November by the “explorare” market research institute from Bielefeld on behalf of the researchers. The affected households will be asked about their experience and some empirical data. The local authorities in Münster and Greven are supporting the scientists by providing information about damage hotspots within their municipalities.

The overall goal of this research project is to better understand heavy rainfall events and their damaging effects, for developing improved early warning systems, the GFZ announced. Within this framework a model that is able to quickly estimate damages to private households caused by heavy rainfall, will be developed.

--------

For further questions, please contact the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences:

Dr. Heidi Kreibich
Section 5.4 Hydrology
Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam
GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences

Phone: +49 331 288-1550

E-Mail: heidi.kreibich(at)gfz-potsdam.de