September/October 2021 - 71

DFI Europe and GEER Collaborate on
Western Europe Flood Study
geotechnical and structural components, infrastructure
damage, river relocation, erosion processes and flood
protection mechanisms.
The team had the opportunity to meet with many critical
Damaged railroad bridge in the Ahr valley, Germany
A t eam from the Geot echni ca l Ext reme Event s
Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, supported by the
National Science Foundation, was mobilized to investigate
the potential impacts of the widespread flooding as a result of
the heavy rainfall that occurred in Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands from July 12 - July 15, 2021. Members of the DFI
Europe regional chapter closely collaborated with the U.S.based
GEER team and many other European engineers and
scientists to study the effects of the flood events and their
resulting impacts on geostructures such as bridges, retaining
walls, dikes and embankments.
Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E., from UC, Irvine (a member of
GEER and DFI in the U.S. and its European chapter), along
with Nina Stark, Ph.D., from Virginia Tech (GEER member) led
the international team. They were supported by European coleads,
George Anoyatis, Ph.D., at KU Leuven, (DFI Europe
member, Belgium), Sikko Doornbos of Delta GeoConsultants
(DFI Europe member, the Netherlands), and Holger
Schuettrumpf, Ph.D., of RWTH in Aachen, Germany.
Extreme events engineering is an experience-driven field
in which perishable data can be used to advance our
understanding by systematically collecting this information
immediately following an event. The team visited sites
within the flooded regions from August 9 - August 18, 2021.
Data was collected using a variety of tools through lidar-based
measurements and 3D modeling, unmanned aerial vehicle
photography and scanning, multispectral photography, in
situ sampling, and basic on-site collection of data and visual
information. The team investigated flood affects on
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * SEPT/OCT 2021 * 71
emergency response agencies, governmental representatives,
and on-site response units (e.g., the Technisches
Hilfswerk, the German military, the Dutch Water board) and
flood survivors. From this, participants learned about hazard
warning, flood progression, post-flood response, emergency
care and temporary infrastructure access to the devastated
areas to supplement the geotechnical observations collected
in the field. The team is currently analyzing collected data for
presentation in a comprehensive reconnaissance report to be
published at http://www.geerassociation.org/.
Critical findings and lessons learned from the
reconnaissance effort will be featured in Deep Foundations
magazine within the next six months. These highlights will
include valuable conclusions drawn regarding the
geotechnical infrastructure performance of well-engineered,
but aging, infrastructure in Western Europe.
http://www.geerassociation.org/ http://www.langan.com/web/
September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September/October 2021
