After the Ahr flood with many damaged steep banks, there are still zones in the river valley with the risk of further landslides. These could endanger houses and people. With the help of aerial photographs taken with special drones and on-site mapping, geoscientists from the University of Mainz are creating better digital terrain models of the Ahr Valley.
According to the Mainz geologist Frieder Enzmann, the experts want to show where further landslides and impoundments could threaten in the event of a possible new Ahr flood. The terrain models are intended to help municipalities, authorities and citizens to defuse risk zones. At least 134 people died in the Ahr flood in July 2021 after extremely heavy rain, around 9,000 buildings were devastated and roads and bridges were destroyed.
Basically, according to Enzmann, the number of landslides in the Rhenish Slate Mountains, which also includes the Ahr Valley, is growing. There are probably two main reasons for this – more and more development on land and the consequences of climate change, he told the German Press Agency. With more sealing of nature, landslides could cause more damage. Larger fluctuations in temperature and humidity as a result of climate change could potentially loosen more rock on the slopes and lead to mass movement.
