The July 2021 flood heavily affected many inhabitants, buildings and critical infrastructure throughout Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Specifically, the Ahr Valley (Germany) showcased the destructive power associated with these extreme events. Hence, this region was the focus of a field survey, aiming at describing the flood-induced damage to buildings and assessing the possible underlying processes that led to structural failures. The field assessment revealed a close connection between building failures and (1) local flow depths and velocities, (2) building location, (3) distance from the riverbank and (4) construction type. Although it is difficult to identify the exact causes that induced failures, the detailed assessment revealed that damages mainly originated from local scour and hydraulic loads, often unevenly distributed around buildings. Importantly, many buildings were significantly affected by (large) floating debris impacts and damming, both responsible for additional loads, highlighting their importance in flood-resistant building design. Furthermore, data showed that buildings near the riverbanks and in the upstream part of villages were more severely damaged. Altogether, data provide a better understanding of the flood processes that lead to building failures, fostering future research towards the development of safer protection measures and more effective flood risk management strategies.

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Short duration bores in the coastal zone are generated by wave breaking in shallow water and mild foreshore conditions. In storm weather situations and for sea level rise scenarios, these bores approach the dike and interact with previously overtopped or reflected bores. Combined laser scanner and video measurements were used to study the complex and turbulent bore interaction processes. Five bore interaction patterns were distinguished as (1) regular bore pattern; (2) collision bore pattern; (3) plunging breaking bore pattern; (4) sequential overtopping bore pattern, and (5) catch-up bore pattern. Video images of the bore running up the wall and motion tracking of the leading edge were used to obtain a time series of the run-up water at the wall. The impact loads of the bore hitting the wall on the promenade were studied based on the signal of a vertical array of 13 pressure sensors installed over the wall height. Three impact types were distinguished and classified as (1) impulsive impact type; (2) dynamic impact type; and (3) quasi-static impact type. The majority of ~2/3 of the total number of impacts were comprised of the quasi-static impact type.

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Over recent years, many coastal engineering projects have employed the use of soft solutions as these are generally less environmentally damaging than hard solutions. However, in some cases, local conditions hinder the use of soft solutions, meaning that hard solutions have to be adopted or, sometimes, a combination of hard and soft measures is seen as optimal. This research reviews the use of hard coastal structures on the foreshore (groynes, breakwaters and jetties) and onshore (seawalls and dikes). The purpose, functioning and local conditions for which these structures are most suitable are outlined. A description is provided on the negative effects that these structures may have on morphological, hydrodynamic and ecological conditions. To reduce or mitigate these negative impacts, or to create new ecosystem services, the following nature-based adaptations are proposed and discussed: (1) applying soft solutions complementary to hard solutions, (2) mitigating morphological and hydrodynamic changes and (3) ecologically enhancing hard coastal structures. The selection and also the success of these potential adaptations are highly dependent on local conditions, such as hydrodynamic forcing, spatial requirements and socioeconomic factors. The overview provided in this paper aims to offer an interdisciplinary understanding, by giving general guidance on which type of solution is suitable for given characteristics, taking into consideration all aspects that are key for environmentally sensitive coastal designs. Overall, this study aims to provide guidance at the interdisciplinary design stage of nature-based coastal defence structures.@en

Overtopping wave loads on vertical structures on top of a dike have been investigated in several small scale experiments in the past. A large-scale validation for a mild foreshore situation is still missing. Hence the WALOWA experimental campaign was carried out to address this topic. In the present paper the objectives of the WALOWA project are outlined in detail, the model and measurement set-up described and the test program presented. Furthermore, preliminary results featuring a single 1000 irregular waves test of the test program are highlighted. This includes the study of the mild and sandy foreshore evolution by comparing profiles before and after the test execution. The profile measurements are obtained with a mechanical profiler. The wave parameters offshore and at the dike toe are numerically simulated using a SWASH model. The numerical results are validated against the measurements. Finally, the force and pressure time series of the waves impacting against the wall are processed and filtered. The load cell measurements and the time series of integrated pressures are compared to each other and for each impact event the maximum force is derived.@en