High water levels on the Baltic Sea: warnings and the risk of storm surges are increasing!

High water levels on the Baltic Sea: warnings and the risk of storm surges are increasing!

Today, November 23, 2025, the Baltic Sea coast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is confronted with worrying water levels. The situation is being monitored closely at several measuring stations, including Wismar, Warnemünde and Stralsund. In Warnemünde, the highest flood level in history was 770 cm, measured in 1872. The average flood level (MHW) there is 617 cm, while the average lowest level (MNW) was 407 cm, as the Ostsee-Zeitung reports.

Recently, the region experienced a severe storm surge that caused around 56 million euros in damage. The city of Sassnitz is particularly under pressure and urgently needs 42 million euros to restore the infrastructure. An additional 6 million euros will be added to compensate for the loss of sand on beaches and dunes caused by artificial nourishment.

Storm surge classification and warning systems

Storm surges on the German Baltic Sea coast are divided into four classes. Training on this classification is crucial because each class presents different hazards. For example, a storm surge is defined as between 3 to 4 feet above the mean water level, while more severe storm surges exceed the 5 feet mark. Various channels such as radio, television and social media are used to warn the population in good time. This is particularly important as flooding could become more frequent in the future due to climate change.

The federal government is documenting two decades of storm surges; the most recent reports show the course and effects of flood events on the Baltic Sea and North Sea.

Climate change and flood risk

What is worrying is that floods are the most common natural disasters worldwide, as current statistics show. Around 37 percent of all natural disasters since 2000 have been flood events. Climate change plays a significant role here, as warmer atmospheric pressure promotes higher precipitation and more frequent heavy rain events. This means that around 400,000 people are at risk of flooding, particularly along the Rhine and its tributaries.

There are also reports of an increasing flood risk in Germany: around 7.6 percent of all German addresses are exposed to a statistical flood risk, which reinforces the need for effective flood protection. Despite the risks and damage caused by floods, housing and infrastructure continue to be approved in vulnerable areas. Reconstruction is going slower than expected, which is hardly surprising given the bureaucratic hurdles.

In order to minimize future damage, a consistent expansion of flood protection and the consideration of natural retention areas are more necessary than ever. Political guidelines that prevent risky construction in flood areas are currently still pending. It remains to be seen how communities learn from this situation and what they do to protect residents and be better prepared for the future.

For more information on current water levels and warnings, visit the website Baltic Sea newspaper while you are on the website Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency You can find more information about storm surges and water levels. You can also find the statistical analysis of flood events at Statista.