How citizens perceived the flooding in Germany in 2021 and which actions they took

The flooding event in Germany in 2021 caused fatal and devastating consequences for the citizens, economy, infrastructure, and more. Research has been focusing on analyzing the meteorological and hydrological aspects of the flooding, the early warning system and warning dissemination, and the flood impact. However, research is lacking a deeper understanding of the perspective of the affected citizens. To give a voice to the affected people, a survey with open and closed questions was disseminated receiving around 430 responses. The survey captured the citizens' perceptions of the high impact flood event and their actions before, during, and after the event. The gained knowledge on lessons learnt and best practices shall support the enhancement of future strategies for citizens' self-preparedness and response, overall situational awareness, and emergency communication.