Germany marks 20 years since Elbe floods

In August 2002, a low pressure system dubbed Ilse triggered heavy rainfall in Central Europe, causing record-breaking floods in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. One of the first cities affected was Passau, in Bavaria. The Danube reached 10.8 meters, its highest level since 1954. Some 850 volunteers, including these divers, helped out around the clock.

The area surrounding the Erz Mountains and Dresden was also put on alert after the water level rose dramatically in a short period of time. Small tributaries of the Elbe River, such as the Müglitz and Weisseritz, became torrential rapids. The town of Pirna flooded in a matter of hours. Here, a lone car was seen drifting through the water near Bad Schandau, near Dresden.

On August 17, the Elbe and Weisseritz rivers flooded parts of Dresden's historic city center, affecting the Zwinger Palace, which boasts the Old Masters Gallery, and the famous Semperoper opera house. The two buildings are among the best-known examples of Baroque architecture in Germany. The damage was later estimated at around €47 million (around $49 million at today's rates).

While the Elbe rose to 11.5 meters (about 38 feet) in Pirna, in Dresden — Saxony's state capital — the water level broke the city record, reaching 9.4 meters. On Schillerplatz, the water was over 2 meters deep and parts of the city had to be evacuated.

Other cities throughout the state of Saxony were also hit hard by the flooding. Villages such as Weesenstein were cut off from the outside world. In Meissen, whose center was completely flooded, this resident made his own raft and could be seen drifting past the awning of a local bakery. Meanwhile, aid workers tried to rescue people in their homes.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, busy campaigning for the Bundestag elections, visits Grimma, a town devastated by the nearby Mulde River, with Saxony's State Premier Georg Milbradt — and presented himself as the empathetic "chancellor in rubber boots." Meanwhile, his opponent Edmund Stoiber was vacationing at the North Sea. Schröder would go on to win reelection in the fall.

On August 20, a dam burst near Torgau and caused water from the Elbe to spill into the surrounding countryside. In Saxony alone, 21 people died in the disaster. Today, 20 years later, Saxony's residents are much better protected against flooding. Since 2002, the state has invested around €3 billion in flood protection projects.

The flood wave rolled northward from Saxony. In the Prignitz district of Brandenburg, disaster control was in full swing and authorities ordered the evacuation of 37 villages. On August 22, Bundeswehr soldiers used sandbags to reinforce leaks in the Elbe dike.

Soon after, the water reached the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. In some places, the flood waves were 3 to 4 meters high. This photo shows the old town of Hitzacker in Lower Saxony, which was not protected by dikes; by August 23, many parts were submerged.

Large areas in Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were flooded. At an intersection near Hitzacker, the occupants of these cars just managed to escape to safety. Mass evacuations along the Elbe began in the north as well.

Fortunately, the water downstream did not rise as high as had been feared. Here, soldiers secured an Elbe dike near Lauenburg, where the flood causes the least damage. The dikes in Hamburg, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) away at the mouth of the Elbe, held. The river there is deeper and wider, and the flood wave simply petered out.

The floods caused major damage across Germany. It left behind destroyed roads, bridges and railroad tracks, as here near Riesa. Houses and dikes were damaged, and harvests were ruined. The Elbe flood of 2002 is still considered the most expensive natural disaster in German history. The total damage amounted to €11.6 billion.

Even more dramatic than the material damage was the human loss, as dozens of people died in the floods. But the willingness to help out was also enormous. The German Red Cross alone collected around €146 million to help people in the flooded areas rebuild — like this man standing on the roof of his ruined home near Wittenberg.

By the end of August, the washed-up mud had dried on the banks of the Elbe in Dresden. During the 2002 flood, Germany recorded the highest precipitation ever measured in the country, with as much rain falling in a few days as would otherwise have fallen in half a year. A repeat event can't be ruled out: Climate change is making heavy rainfall events more likely.