With the open-access volume The 2021 Flood Disaster – From Reconstruction to Climate Resilience, a new academic publication has been released that brings together key findings from the BMBF-funded joint project KAHR. The book examines the flood events of July 2021, their impacts, and the lessons learned for reconstruction, climate adaptation, and flood risk management.

The HochwasserKompetenzCentrum e. V. was also actively involved in the KAHR project from 2022 to 2025. The insights and experience gained through the project have now been incorporated into the new publication. HKC played a major role in the chapter “Private Flood Preparedness in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate after the July 2021 Flood: What Measures Have Households Implemented and What Needs Remain” and also contributed to the chapter “Communication During the Reconstruction Process.”

The publication highlights the importance of practice-oriented research for flood and heavy rainfall preparedness. At the same time, it shows how essential clear risk communication, stronger private preparedness, and the transfer of knowledge between research and practice are for climate-adapted reconstruction.

The book is available as open access. An overview of the book and all included chapters can be found here.

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