Building Back Better: Strengthening Resilience and Supporting Climate Adaptation in the Aftermath of the 2021 Flood in Germany—Insights From a Transdisciplinary Research Project

The 2021 floods in Western Europe caused unprecedented damage, revealing major weaknesses in early warning as well as disaster risk governance. In Germany, the inter‐ and transdisciplinary KAHR project was established to provide science‐based support for climate‐adapted reconstruction. This paper analyzes how KAHR operationalized an expanded Building Back Better (BBB) framework through interdisciplinary collaboration and close engagement with authorities and communities. Key contributions include advanced flood risk modeling to guide catchment‐scale planning, household‐level adaptation, as well as input for the relocation of critical and social infrastructure. Surveys on psychosocial impacts supported the design of mental health services, while new governance structures and planning instruments enabled more effective reconstruction. Our findings show that embedding research into recovery processes can be an effective strategy for translating scientific knowledge into actionable solutions aiming at strengthening climate adaptation during the reconstruction. While the results contribute to international debates on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, they also offer practical insights for implementing BBB in flood risk management under climate change. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance Science of Water > Water Extremes