Flood app for North Rhine-Westphalia
Activate your own precautions against heavy rain and flooding
The Ministry for Regional Identity, Communities, Building and Digitalisation (MHKBD) and the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport (MUNV) are working together with Emschergenossenschaft and Lippeverband (EGLV) to strengthen heavy rain and flood protection in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The ‘Flood Check App’ has been available throughout NRW since April 2025. With this app, all citizens can determine how safe their home is from flooding, heavy rain or high water. To date, the platform has recorded almost half a million users with a total of around one million house enquiries (as of May 2025).
If you have any questions or comments regarding the app, please contact us at the following email address: hochwasserapp.nrw@hkc-online.de
The HKC was commissioned to further develop the app for citizens in NRW together with the MHKBD, MUNV and EGLV. The aim is to develop an app that raises awareness of precautionary measures to protect against flooding, expands knowledge and supports citizens' self-efficacy through self-preparedness.
Contents of the interactive Internet platform:
- Information on flood risks
- Automated information on the flood risk to a house due to heavy rain and flooding (from the heavy rain and flood hazard maps with the respective scenarios) by entering the address
- Assessment of the flood risk for a house
The app is being expanded step by step. Further functions will follow in the coming months:
- Interactive questionnaire on the vulnerability of a house
- Recommendations for personal precautions in terms of property protection measures and behaviour
- Information on precautionary measures (property protection and behaviour)
The platform enables citizens to become aware of the risks of flooding through information and, ultimately, to take action. The layout and language used on the website should be easy for citizens to understand. The HKC network's expertise in science and practice will be utilised during implementation.
