The recent times weren’t any good for Germany, considered widely as the strongman of Europe and the beating heart of Western Europe. The strong economic force of Europe, and inarguably, the most powerful economy alongside France, perhaps it may not be incorrect to conjecture that the recent blow suffered by Germany isn’t like anything one has ever seen in the recent past.
The series of floods that struck parts of Germany whilst also causing a lot of damage across Belgium led to an unimaginable cost of destruction, wrecking havoc to both physical infrastructure, besides leading to irreparable loss of human lives.
As if 2021 hadn’t already been any more taxing for a country that, much like others such as Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Austria suffered irrepressibly to the COVID 19 virus (and its threat), the middle half of the year became even tougher for Deutschland.
Whether it is the nature’s fury or sudden ecological upsets that stand to threaten the prevalence of peace here upon the earth, one thing is certain- climate change is causing irreversible damage. And it is about time that one pays greater attention, than afforded, to environmental maladies like the strong floods across Germany or the bushfires across Australia or the ones seen in California earlier.
That being told, all of Germany is pondering over a vital question. Aware of the extent of damage it had to undergo thanks to the natural, unstoppable phenomenon of floods, a popular question is doing rounds of German media.
So just what is it all about?
It wishes to know how is it that countries such as Switzerland and The Netherlands are much better placed (if not prepared naturally) to battle out stormy situations like floods?
This is a query that Germany would love to know immediately for truth certainly is that the renowned Angela Merkel-led nation would want to find its way out of trouble or harm’s way.
Also Read: Climate Change Threat Engulfs Sardinia, Italy Through Wildfires!
In an interesting article published on Aviation Analysis, the following information came to light:
Why do the Netherlands and Switzerland have relatively good flood protection? So many German media have been wondering in recent days. Jeroen Aerts, professor of water and climate hazards at VU University in Amsterdam, often referred to in Germany, answers that authorities in the Netherlands are better prepared and that communication in crises is faster.
“We saw the wave go better and knew where it was going,” says Aerts, referring to ancient knowledge in the Low Countries. The first water boards date back to the Middle Ages. “Germany desperately needs a long-term climate adaptation strategy, even if it is very expensive,” advises Aerts on the business magazine website. Capital. according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Essentially the Netherlands learned lessons from the great floods of the 1990s, as banks in many places were expanded to accommodate rising water levels.