Vienna: Cooperative apartment becomes a flood zone every time it rains!

Vienna: Cooperative apartment becomes a flood zone every time it rains!

In the 22nd district of Vienna, the residential complex on Zschokkegasse is facing a serious challenge. “Every time there is heavy rain, our house becomes a flood zone,” complains Andrea B. (54 years old), who has lived with her husband in a cooperative apartment for 30 years. Around 250 apartments are affected, with many wooden balconies and glass roofs that, although nice to look at, become a trap in heavy rain.

The problem has been known for 25 years. Water seeps into the passage through the gutters, and even in moderate rain the water is ankle deep. Tenants are desperately trying to remove the intruding water with brooms and buckets. Things get even worse when violent thunderstorms hit the area. Recently, Andrea's husband fell while removing water and broke his arm. So you ask yourself: How long can this last?

A problem that won't go away

The cooperative administration, the EBG (non-profit single-family and multi-family house building cooperative), is informed about the precarious situation. Managing director Alexander Gluttig emphasizes that the solution is complex and time-consuming. "The building was built 30 years ago and meets the standards of the time. But extreme weather events have increased in recent years," he explains. According to research, inadequate drainage is the main cause, necessitating expansion of the drainage system. This requires additional storage basins and larger shafts to control the water.

Climate change is leading to an increase in extreme weather events not only in Vienna but worldwide. These events, such as heavy rain and floods, are anything but normal and threaten the livelihoods of many people. This also poses challenges for the political system, because the far-reaching social and economic consequences cannot be ignored.

A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights that Earth's surface temperature is rising faster than ever before. As a result, coastal flooding could occur annually in the future, which previously only occurred once in 100 years. Humanity itself is the main cause of these climatic changes, making it even more important to act quickly.

The tenants take matters into their own hands

Back in Zschokkegasse, the tenants are frustrated. They build temporary flood protection barriers and cover their balconies with tarpaulins. Even if the property management is supposed to implement measures this year, the tenants' patience is running out. “We can’t live like this anymore,” says Andrea B. resignedly.

But climate change is a global problem. In regions like the Horn of Africa, people regularly struggle with drought or floods. These extreme weather conditions, for example, led to humanitarian crises and crop failures from 2010 to 2012. Floods have also long been an everyday occurrence in Bangladesh. Such global phenomena make it clear: the local problem is part of a much larger whole that is exacerbated by human activity.

Given these contradictory challenges, we need better adaptive measures and innovative solutions to deal with the horrors of climate change, not only in Vienna but around the world. Policies such as the Paris Agreement, as well as technologies to improve weather forecasting, need to be seriously considered to ensure a sustainable future.

Time is of the essence to minimize the increasing risk of flooding due to more intense rainfall. The tenants in Zschokkegasse not only deserve an answer to their problems, but also some hope for a more stable climate.

For further information on extreme weather events and their causes and solutions, visit klima-wissen.de or take a look at the results of the WWF report.

This situation in Vienna is a strong example of how climate change not only affects distant countries, but can also be felt right here on our doorstep.