Overview
Hochwasserzentralen.de is a centralised flood information portal for Germany, aggregating official hydrological and warning data. Its primary purpose is to provide timely, standardised information on flood risk, water levels and alerts across federal states. Finance professionals may find it relevant for assessing physical climate risks and flood exposure affecting assets, infrastructure and regional economies.
Organisation behind the tool
The tool is coordinated by the German federal states’ flood warning services (Hochwasserzentralen der Länder). It functions as a joint platform that consolidates data and outputs from individual state authorities rather than a single standalone organisation.
What the tool does
- Provides real-time and near-real-time flood warnings and alerts.
- Displays river water levels, trends and warning thresholds across Germany.
- Aggregates official data from state-level hydrological and flood warning centres.
- Links users to detailed regional and local flood services for deeper analysis.
- Presents information through interactive maps and standardised dashboards.
- Offers open access to publicly available flood and hydrological information.
Target audience
The primary audience includes emergency services, public authorities and water management agencies. Secondary users include researchers, infrastructure operators, businesses, insurers and the general public seeking flood risk information.
Relevance to finance professionals
- Risk assessment – supports identification of flood-prone regions and assessment of physical climate risk to property, infrastructure and supply chains.
- ESG analysis – provides environmental risk context relevant to climate adaptation, resilience and disclosure frameworks.
- Market and infrastructure insights – informs analysis of potential impacts on transport, utilities, agriculture and regional economic activity.
- Investment context – aids evaluation of long-term flood risk trends affecting asset valuation, insurance exposure and capital allocation decisions.
