Vienna has a large flood protection system that has spared it from the catastrophic floods that have devastated parts of Central and Eastern Europe in recent days. How does this system work?
The system, located along the Danube River, has been under construction for a long time. For centuries before its completion, floods in Austria’s capital were inevitable.
As floods became more frequent and intense, the city realized the need for a long-term solution. This solution involved redirecting the Danube. In the 19th century, engineers began reinforcing the riverbed and creating floodplains, which significantly altered the city’s landscape.
Vienna now has two main watercourses: the Danube Canal, a man-made channel, and the Old Danube, which is cut off from the main water flow. In addition, there is the New Danube, a 21-kilometer flood channel completed in the 1980s.
This flood channel runs parallel to the Danube, and the soil excavated during its construction was used to create an artificial island. Water is only released into the New Danube in the event of flooding.
Vienna’s flood control measures can reduce water volume by up to 14.000 cubic meters per second – a level statistically expected to occur once every 3.000 to 5.000 years. This capacity is based on data from one of the largest floods that ever hit the city in 1501, meaning Vienna’s flood control system is largely designed for the worst-case scenario.
However, large engineering projects alone are not a complete solution. City authorities emphasize that preparedness is one of the key aspects of flood control, especially as major floods are expected to become more frequent, Deutsche Welle writes.
E.Dz.
