Heavy Rain Resilience: This is how we protect our cities from flooding!

Heavy Rain Resilience: This is how we protect our cities from flooding!

Heavy rain is an issue that affects us all. Against this background, a new simulation game entitled “Heavy Rain Resilience” was presented at Trier University on July 3, 2025. This innovative concept aims to improve risk communication during heavy rain events and to raise citizens' awareness of self-precaution. “We want to overcome psychological and social barriers,” says Joshua Azvedo, who designed the simulation game as part of the FloReST (Urban Flood Resilience – Smart Tools) project, which is supported by Trier University of Applied Sciences.

The simulation game offers participants the opportunity to slip into the roles of municipal actors such as administration, disaster control and civil society. You must make strategic decisions to increase a fictional city's resilience to heavy rain. The sensible use of limited resources is taken into account, as is the question of sharing responsibility and long-term protective measures. Particular attention is paid to cognitive distortions and emotional protective mechanisms, which often lead to incorrect assessments of risks.

Growing challenges due to heavy rain

The necessity of such projects also has to do with recent developments in the area of ​​climate protection. The new edition of the brochure “Heavy Rain – Challenge for Civil Protection” highlights the risks that are increased by climate change. This brochure, based on current research, finds that the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events are increasing. Particularly at risk are heavily sealed, urban areas that are prone to flooding. The experiences from the flood disaster of 2021 show that the existing structures need to be improved in order to meet the current challenges, as the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) reports.

The brochure not only addresses the challenges, but also offers solutions. These include recommendations for disaster control and the idea of ​​the “sponge city,” which aims to better absorb and store rainwater. Such concepts are crucial for urban development in order to increase resilience to extreme climatic events.

Hand in hand for the future

In this context, the simulation game at Trier University clearly showed how important it is to actively engage with the topic. The simulation-based approaches not only impart knowledge, but also promote collaboration between different groups and levels. “Experiential learning and changing perspectives are crucial,” says Azvedo. Addressing the changes brought about by climate change requires a collaborative effort from everyone – from municipalities to citizens.

In today's world, when extreme weather events are increasing, it seems more necessary than ever that we prepare for all possible scenarios. Only through joint action and innovative approaches can we overcome the challenges posed by heavy rain and other extreme climatic events. For further information and a deeper insight into the topic of climate adaptation, it is worth visiting the websites of BBK and HLNUG. The knowledge is there, now it is up to us to actively listen to it and implement it.