E3 Extreme Floods
Jakub Langhammer
Tuesday, April 25 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
The lecture presents floods in Prague and Czechia in the past two decades in the context of historical floods in Central Europe, their relation to the extensive landscape alterations, climate change, and changes in the flood protection paradigm.
The catastrophic flood in August 2002 that significantly hit Prague city will serve as an example. This event belongs among the most extreme floods recorded in Central Europe over the past centuries. This flood affected vast regions of the Elbe and Danube basins and resulted in unprecedented damage to the landscape and infrastructure, including the city of Prague.
The lecture will give an overview of historical floods in the region of Central Europe and the Czech Republic to provide the context for the flood event of 2002. The initial meteorological situation, hydrological course of flooding, and flood damage types in different environments will be discussed, ranging from montane headwaters to cities and industrial complexes in lowland floodplains.
There will be a focus on the effects of landscape and river network modifications on flood dynamics, the extent of flooding, and resulting damage. We will discuss the potential of climate change on the expected properties of future floods and the role of extreme flood events for changes in flood protection paradigms.
Readings:
Barredo, J.I., 2007. Major flood disasters in Europe: 1950–2005. Natural Hazards, 42(1), pp.125-148.