Flood damage and influencing factors:: New insights from the August 2002 flood in Germany -: art. no. W12430

[1] In the aftermath of a severe flood event in August 2002 in Germany, 1697 computer-aided telephone interviews were undertaken in flood-affected private households. Besides the damage to buildings and contents a variety of factors that might influence flood damage were queried. It is analyzed here how variables describing flood impact, precaution, and preparedness as well as characteristics of the affected buildings and households vary between the lower and upper damage quartiles of all affected households. The analysis is supplemented by principal component analyses. The investigation reveals that flood impact variables, particularly water level, flood duration, and contamination are the most influential factors for building and for content damage. This group of variables is followed by items quantifying the size and the value of the affected building/flat. In comparison to these factors, temporal and permanent resistance influences damage only to a small fraction, although in individual cases, precaution can significantly reduce flood damage.