Flood album: Baltic Sea levels endanger our coasts!
Flood album: Baltic Sea levels endanger our coasts!
Sassnitz, Deutschland - On July 9, 2025, the flood on the Baltic Sea coast Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania remains a explosive topic. As Ostsee newspaper The water levels in cities such as Wismar, Warnemünde, Althagen, Barth, Stralsund, Sassnitz and Greifswald. The values in Warnemünde in particular are remarkable and show the complexity of these natural events.
The monitoring of such water levels is crucial. In Warnemünde, the middle water level (MW) was 507 cm over the period from 2010 to 2020. The values for the medium low water (MNW) were 407 cm, while the medium flood (MHW) was registered at 617 cm. In the historical comparison, the highest water level of 770 cm, which was measured on November 13, 1872, is a sobering memory of the dangers associated with storm surges.
storm flood classes and their effects
The classification of storm surges is an important measure to evaluate the hazard. Sturm floods are divided into four classes: a storm surge is between 1.00 and 1.25 m above the middle water level, while a very severe storm surge extends over 2.00 m. According to the current reports, there were a total of 16 storm surges in the last two seasons on the German North Sea coast, with 13 of them performing in the 2023/2024 season. In the 2024/2025 season, three storm surges have already been registered, but the water levels are significantly below the extreme values.
weather conditions with strong western winds, especially on the North Sea coast, or strong northern winds in Lower Saxony have proven to be particularly dangerous. These weather conditions mean that large masses of water are pressed against the coast, which can trigger a storm surge. Historically, the storm surge of February 16, 1962 in Hamburg is one of the most devastating events of the past 100 years, followed by important storm surges in 1976, 1981, 1999 and 2013.
preparation for floods and financial burdens
The preventive measures are highly prioritized in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, especially after the last serious storm surge caused damage of 56 million euros in October 2023. The city of Sassnitz in particular faces the challenge of mobilizing around 42 million euros for the restoration of the infrastructure. The damage mainly makes the tourist infrastructure, port protection systems and coastal protection through artificial sand rinses.
Various warning channels are available at threatening floods: from radio and television to sirens to modern warning apps and digital advertising boards. The various institutions, including the federal government, the federal states and the police, work closely together to inform the population in good time.It remains to be seen how the upcoming weather conditions develop and whether we have to expect increased water levels again. As the Federal Office for Sea shipping and hydrography notes, climate change could raise the starting level for storm surges, which could destabilize future events. In view of the changes in the climate and local interventions in the coastal protection measures and the natural dynamics of the coastal areas, the natural spatial conditions remain of great importance for the safety of the population.
The challenges are great, but with a clever preparation and comprehensive communication, it can be reacted to the moods of the Baltic Sea.
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| Ort | Sassnitz, Deutschland |
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