Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Five years ago, the Ahr valley in Germany was devastated by a massive flood. Now, the survivors who stayed are building back, and preparing for the next one.
#flood #germany #engineering #planeta
Credits:
Reporter: Jonas Mayer
Camera: Florian Kroker
Edit: Markus Mörtz
Additional Animations: Adam Baheej Adada
Editor: Adam Baheej Adada, Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Factcheck: Kirsten Funck
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Read more:
More on the reconstruction of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler: ag-bnaw.de
More on the retention basins: kreis-ahrweiler.de/land_natur_umwelt/hochwasservorsorge/plan-zur-entwicklung-von-ueberoertlichen-massnahmen
More on the flood 2021 vs 1910 and protection: dokumente.landtag.rlp.de/landtag/vorlagen/1-67-18.pdf
The map from 1803-1820j: geoportal.rlp.de/mapbender/extensions/mobilemap2/index.html?layerid=49369
More on global flood risk and damage: undrr.org/gar/gar2025/hazard-exploration/floods
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:45 A survivor’s story
4:21 How to flood-proof a town
6:56 More space for the river
9:23 The retention basins
11:05 It’s cultural – and global
12:46 When the next flood comes
13:42 Conclusion
We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. We'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
Follow Planet A on TikTok: tiktok.com/@dw_planet
Five years ago, the Ahr valley in Germany was devastated by a massive flood. Now, the survivors who stayed are building back, and preparing for the next one.
#flood #germany #engineering #planeta
Credits:
Reporter: Jonas Mayer
Camera: Florian Kroker
Edit: Markus Mörtz
Additional Animations: Adam Baheej Adada
Editor: Adam Baheej Adada, Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Factcheck: Kirsten Funck
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Read more:
More on the reconstruction of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler: ag-bnaw.de
More on the retention basins: kreis-ahrweiler.de/land_natur_umwelt/hochwasservorsorge/plan-zur-entwicklung-von-ueberoertlichen-massnahmen
More on the flood 2021 vs 1910 and protection: dokumente.landtag.rlp.de/landtag/vorlagen/1-67-18.pdf
The map from 1803-1820j: geoportal.rlp.de/mapbender/extensions/mobilemap2/index.html?layerid=49369
More on global flood risk and damage: undrr.org/gar/gar2025/hazard-exploration/floods
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:45 A survivor’s story
4:21 How to flood-proof a town
6:56 More space for the river
9:23 The retention basins
11:05 It’s cultural – and global
12:46 When the next flood comes
13:42 Conclusion
We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. We'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
Follow Planet A on TikTok: tiktok.com/@dw_planet
