With the beginning of the Christmas season in 2023, extensive flooding occurred due to heavy rainfall, particularly affecting Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and parts of the North German coast. Individual districts declared a state of emergency, and the state of Lower Saxony requested assistance from France through the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). The German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) are also involved through official requests for assistance, along with numerous volunteers from the fire departments, THW (Technical Relief Agency), various relief organizations, and spontaneous helpers. While media coverage during the Christmas holidays was subdued, focusing mainly on alleged 'sandbag theft' and associated debates on social media regarding increasing aggression and antisocial behavior, reports on the on-site situation, especially in connection with visits by politicians, have increased since January 2, 2024. Also, there are occasional mentions of well-known demands to strengthen civil protection, even though the situation seems relatively well-controlled so far. Some reports also highlight improvements, especially in technical flood protection.

Currently, the Disaster Research Unit (Katastrophenforschungsstelle) is conducting a cross-project Quick-Response Research named "WinWas" to scientifically accompany the crisis management. This includes expert interviews with civil protection actors, media analyses, and individual case studies to analyze coping mechanisms by the population and their social behavior.

If you are interested in participating, please send a short message to cordula.dittmer@fu-berlin.de