Danger of flooding in Hanover: Current water levels on the Leine at a glance!

Danger of flooding in Hanover: Current water levels on the Leine at a glance!

On June 16, 2025, Hanover faces a special situation because the water levels of the Leine, one of the city's two main rivers, are of interest. The Leine, which rises in southern Eichsfeld and flows into the Aller north of Schwarmstedt, crosses, among other places, Göttingen and Hanover. The Ihme also plays a role here; it is shorter and forms in the Deister foreland before it flows into the Leine north of Hanover. These rivers were intensively monitored for flood levels in order to warn the population early and ensure safe conditions.

Current data shows that the water level of the Leine near Herrenhausen is 80 cm in the early afternoon, which is 48% below the mean level of 155 cm. In Neustadt an der Leine, however, the standard is 177 cm, which is 16% below the average of 213 cm. Another value from Schwarmstedt also shows a deviation of 41% below the mean at 91 cm. The tendency of the water levels is predominantly falling, while the level in Neustadt remains constant. This information comes from WetterOnline, who provide regularly updated level information wetteronline.de.

Warning levels and risk assessment

The reporting levels for floods are clearly defined. The levels range from isolated flooding (level 1) to major flooding in built-up areas, where water and dam defenses must also be used (level 4). These classifications are particularly important for the population in order to be able to take the right measures as quickly as possible. As part of flood warnings, it is also important to know that information can be issued by various bodies such as the federal, state, police and fire brigade. The warning channels are diverse and range from radio and television to sirens and social media haz.de.

Floods are among the most common natural disasters worldwide and have caused almost 37 percent of all natural disasters in Germany since 2000. The influence of climate change should not be underestimated: weather extremes such as heavy rain are becoming more frequent as the atmosphere becomes warmer. Studies show that around 7.6 percent of all addresses in Germany are at risk of flooding, while around 17 percent are in the medium and highest risk category. This means that around 400,000 people could be at risk of flooding in the coming years statista.com.

The flood disaster of 2021 has vividly shown how vulnerable the infrastructure and the population are to extreme weather conditions. Even though a reconstruction fund of 30 billion euros is available, reconstruction is not going as quickly as hoped. The main reasons for this are bureaucratic hurdles and the constant construction of new residential buildings in high-risk areas without clear political guidelines. This situation once again shows the urgency of consistently expanding flood protection and taking natural retention areas into account.

The flood problem will continue to be with us in the future, and the ecological destruction of natural floodplains in particular contributes to the risk. The city of Hanover and its citizens must be vigilant and actively inform themselves in order to be able to react correctly if the worst comes to the worst.