Publication Date:
2000
Description:
Heavy precipitation at Pentecost in 1999 led to extensive flooding and property damage within the southern region of Bavaria running into the billions of German Marks. The rivers Iller, Ammer, Isar, and Danube experienced water levels that had never been seen in that century. The upper Lech, the Loisach, and the upper Isar, as well as numerous smaller water courses in the Alps and their foothills suffered from extreme water levels. Heavy flooding occurred in the southern part of the Allgäu, from the Iller valley to its flow into the Danube. In the Augsburg region the Leck and the Wertach, areas along the Ammer, Loisach and Amper as well as the Danube suffered from the floods. In Neustadt on Danube the population was seriously affected by a broken dike. Altogether an area of about 20,000 ha was flooded and approximately 16,000 buildings were damaged by the floods. However, in places where water reservoirs control the waters' flow, flood damage could be averted to a great extent. The necessity and efficiency of reservoirs was thus proven impressively. On this occasion the Sylvenstein reservoir, a dam construction approx. 60 km south of Munich, Bavaria's capital, (Fig. 1) was a key factor in flood protection for the upper and middle Isar valley.
