1001 Smart Cities
🇩🇪 Hamburg

Hamburg Heavy Rain Map & Severity Index

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 11 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

11 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

Radar and gauges regrade the rain across 24,000 grid cells every five minutes, on a twelve-step severity index. Nothing downstream moves: the retention basins are still checked by staff on site.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence🏛️ Official
what does this mean?The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byHAMBURG WASSER (with Hamburg's environment authority, BUKEA)
Scale🗺️ Regional

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 8 more in Hamburg · 💧 Water guide · 📡 Data & IoT projects

Hamburg's municipal water utility publishes a public rain map that recalculates precipitation across the metropolitan region every five minutes from German Weather Service radar plus its own gauges, grading events on a twelve-step heavy-rain index across 24,000 grid cells. It informs residents and authorities; no reading automatically triggers pumps or sewer control.

Live 📅 since 2019

📊 Impact

No usage figures are published for the live map; what followed is documented elsewhere: the heavy-rain hazard map HAMBURG WASSER modelled for the city's environment authority, completed citywide in May 2024, expresses its three simulated scenarios as steps of the same index (SRI 5, SRI 7 and SRI 12).

🎓 Lesson

A reading here has no operational consequence: this sits on the public-warning rung of the sensor-to-action ladder, one step below a forecast — when heavier rain arrives, HAMBURG WASSER steers wastewater into its 43 retention basins as a separate operational act, and nothing in that chain takes its cue from the public index.

📡 Data & IoTWaterSensors & IoTFlood resilience

Sources

↗ HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in HamburgOperator page describing the heavy-rain map and severity index.
↗ Starkregenkarte (live application)The public tool itself.
↗ KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profileIndependent federal confirmation: launch year 2019, DWD radar plus utility gauges, 5-minute update, 24,000 cells of 500x500m, 12-step index, no forecast function.
↗ gwf Wasser|Abwasser — Live-Karte zeigt aktuelle Regenmengen für HamburgPublished 23 August 2019Trade-press report on the 2019 launch: five-minute recalculation from the utility's own gauges plus German Weather Service data, the twelve-step scale developed in 2015, an archive function, and the map's stated purpose — public awareness and a uniform classification of heavy rain.
↗ BUKEA — Starkregengefahrenkarte für ganz Hamburg verfügbar (press release)Published 22 May 2024The environment authority's release completing the heavy-rain hazard map for the whole city: modelled by HAMBURG WASSER on the authority's behalf, first parts online since October 2023, and its three simulated scenarios oriented on the categories of the Starkregenindex.
Show 2 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ HAMBURG WASSER — So trotzt Hamburgs Abwassersystem dem Dauerregen (magazine)Published 9 January 2024Operator magazine piece on how the sewer system handled the December 2023 rains: during heavier rain events wastewater is deliberately steered into retention basins or the deeper sewer level — an operational act separate from the public rain map.
↗ HAMBURG WASSER — Wie funktionieren Regenrückhalt- und Mischwasserbecken (magazine)Published 11 March 2024Operator magazine explainer on the retention-basin stock: HAMBURG WASSER operates 43 above- and below-ground basins; further rain retention basins are the districts' responsibility.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2019. 4 of 7 sources carry a publication date, from 23 August 2019 to 22 May 2024.

When the sources were published

  1. gwf Wasser|Abwasser · pressgwf Wasser|Abwasser — Live-Karte zeigt aktuelle Regenmengen für Hamburg
  2. Hamburg Wasser · utilityHAMBURG WASSER — So trotzt Hamburgs Abwassersystem dem Dauerregen (magazine)
  3. Hamburg Wasser · utilityHAMBURG WASSER — Wie funktionieren Regenrückhalt- und Mischwasserbecken (magazine)
  4. Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg · city governmentBUKEA — Starkregengefahrenkarte für ganz Hamburg verfügbar (press release)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Entered the record
  2. Sources last read

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 11 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 11 addressable claims, 7 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 11

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-69f4cb04cea0af80 descriptive
publishes a public rain map that recalculates precipitation across the metropolitan region every five minutes from German Weather Service radar plus its own gauges
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The operator states that German Weather Service radar data and its own gauge readings are combined and refreshed every five minutes for Hamburg and the metropolitan region; the federal profile independently confirms the five-minute recalculation for the greater Hamburg area.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in Hamburg
  2. KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile
Claim 2 clm-699d211796a353f8 quantitative
grading events on a twelve-step heavy-rain index across 24,000 grid cells
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The federal profile states the twelve-step Starkregenindex (graded by duration, rainfall amount and statistical recurrence) and the assignment of readings to 24,000 cells of 500 x 500 metres.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile
Claim 3 clm-4823d52528bbe874 descriptive
It informs residents and authorities
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The federal profile names state and municipal administration as the target group and citizens as a further audience.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile
Claim 4 clm-b1482ef78f898800 descriptive
no reading automatically triggers pumps or sewer control
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
Every description of the map gives it an information role only: the launch coverage states its purposes as sensitising the public and establishing a uniform classification, and neither the operator nor the federal profile attributes any control function to it.
Caveat
An absence reading: the sources describe the map as an information and classification tool and name no control function; none states the negative outright.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in Hamburg
  2. KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile
  3. gwf Wasser|Abwasser — Live-Karte zeigt aktuelle Regenmengen für Hamburg
Claim 5 clm-fb8000cac66b114d descriptive
No usage figures are published for the live map
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
An absence finding: neither the operator's heavy-rain pages nor the federal profile nor the trade coverage of the launch states any access or usage numbers; a targeted search found none.
Caveat
An absence finding — no source publishes usage numbers; none states the negative outright.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in Hamburg
  2. KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile
Claim 6 clm-81aa34b07d8992ea descriptive
the heavy-rain hazard map HAMBURG WASSER modelled for the city's environment authority
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The authority's release states the hazard map was developed and modelled by HAMBURG WASSER on its behalf.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. BUKEA — Starkregengefahrenkarte für ganz Hamburg verfügbar (press release)
Claim 7 clm-861eb4a0f766a76e quantitative
completed citywide in May 2024
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The release, dated 22 May 2024, announces the hazard map as completed and publicly accessible for the whole city area; first parts had been online since October 2023.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. BUKEA — Starkregengefahrenkarte für ganz Hamburg verfügbar (press release)
Claim 8 clm-92bca238219ef756 quantitative
expresses its three simulated scenarios as steps of the same index (SRI 5, SRI 7 and SRI 12)
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The release states the hazard map considers three scenarios of different rain intensity oriented on the categories of the Starkregenindex; the operator's page names the scenarios as an intense (SRI 5), an exceptional (SRI 7) and an extreme heavy rain (SRI 12).
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. BUKEA — Starkregengefahrenkarte für ganz Hamburg verfügbar (press release)
  2. HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in Hamburg
Claim 9 clm-c4a9e0540d7a9233 descriptive
this sits on the public-warning rung of the sensor-to-action ladder, one step below a forecast
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The federal profile describes a real-time display of rain already falling plus an archive back to 2014; no forecast function is described — the map warns about the present, it does not predict or act.
Caveat
The 'ladder' is this atlas's own framing; the underlying fact is that the tool shows current rain only.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile
Claim 10 clm-aa7d9f6386ebbc36 quantitative
HAMBURG WASSER steers wastewater into its 43 retention basins
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The operator states that during heavier rain events wastewater is deliberately steered into retention basins or the deeper sewer level, and separately that it operates 43 above- and below-ground basins.
Caveat
The count covers the utility's own basins; Hamburg's districts run further rain retention basins of their own.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. HAMBURG WASSER — So trotzt Hamburgs Abwassersystem dem Dauerregen (magazine)
  2. HAMBURG WASSER — Wie funktionieren Regenrückhalt- und Mischwasserbecken (magazine)
Claim 11 clm-23c45f2efb7fa067 descriptive
nothing in that chain takes its cue from the public index
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
An absence reading restating the snippet's no-triggering fact from the operational side: the operator's own account of steering storm flows never mentions the public map or index, and every description of the map gives it an information role only.
Caveat
An absence reading: no source connects the sewer operations to the public index; none states the negative outright.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. HAMBURG WASSER — So trotzt Hamburgs Abwassersystem dem Dauerregen (magazine)
  2. HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in Hamburg
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-28-evidence-baseline effective 2026-08-28 · created 2026-08-28

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:5c53c2995feae62bc586726f951c5217b7af0241f85b3c7cede62b2711fa42ad
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
11
of 11 claims mapped
7
source dossiers
4
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
HAMBURG WASSER (with Hamburg's environment authority, BUKEA)
Actor types
utility, city-government
Funding model
Not recorded
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

7 source dossiers

HAMBURG WASSER — Starkregen in Hamburg hamburgwasser.de · 5 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6a02ea25118f1748
Publisher
Name not classified · hamburgwasser.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator page describing the heavy-rain map and severity index.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Starkregenkarte (live application) sri.hamburgwasser.de · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0e37f32b250b36da
Publisher
Name not classified · sri.hamburgwasser.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The public tool itself.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
KLiVO — German federal climate service portal profile klivoportal.de · 6 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-25934d169194f57d
Publisher
Name not classified · klivoportal.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Independent federal confirmation: launch year 2019, DWD radar plus utility gauges, 5-minute update, 24,000 cells of 500x500m, 12-step index, no forecast function.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
gwf Wasser|Abwasser — Live-Karte zeigt aktuelle Regenmengen für Hamburg gwf-wasser.de · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-ddace49fc69f9b35
Publisher
Name not classified · gwf-wasser.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2019-08-23
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Trade-press report on the 2019 launch: five-minute recalculation from the utility's own gauges plus German Weather Service data, the twelve-step scale developed in 2015, an archive function, and the map's stated purpose — public awareness and a uniform classification of heavy rain.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
BUKEA — Starkregengefahrenkarte für ganz Hamburg verfügbar (press release) hamburg.de · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-18b164dec02ef905
Publisher
Name not classified · hamburg.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-05-22
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The environment authority's release completing the heavy-rain hazard map for the whole city: modelled by HAMBURG WASSER on the authority's behalf, first parts online since October 2023, and its three simulated scenarios oriented on the categories of the Starkregenindex.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
HAMBURG WASSER — So trotzt Hamburgs Abwassersystem dem Dauerregen (magazine) hamburgwasser.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-7e1165af00dd2ce8
Publisher
Name not classified · hamburgwasser.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-01-09
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator magazine piece on how the sewer system handled the December 2023 rains: during heavier rain events wastewater is deliberately steered into retention basins or the deeper sewer level — an operational act separate from the public rain map.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
HAMBURG WASSER — Wie funktionieren Regenrückhalt- und Mischwasserbecken (magazine) hamburgwasser.de · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-ae869ae50237fa60
Publisher
Name not classified · hamburgwasser.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-03-11
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator magazine explainer on the retention-basin stock: HAMBURG WASSER operates 43 above- and below-ground basins; further rain retention basins are the districts' responsibility.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇩🇰 Copenhagen Bathing Water Forecast & Overflow Warning System · Copenhagen Same public-warning rung, but Copenhagen forecasts forward to a red/green call; Hamburg's index only nowcasts rain already falling. 🇩🇪 Smart Flood Monitoring & Forecast · Frankenberg (Eder) Hamburg's map only nowcasts rain already falling; Frankenberg's 2025 rollout aims to push SMS and voice alerts straight to residents. 🇨🇳 Citywide Smart Drainage & Waterlogging Early-Warning Platform · Guangzhou Both are citywide rain-sensor networks that only warn, sitting on rung 2 rather than triggering pumps or barriers.

Explore the wider context

📟 A Reading Is Not a Decision📖 District metering area (DMA)📖 Flood early-warning system📖 Non-revenue water (NRW)
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Hamburg Heavy Rain Map & Severity Index” — Hamburg, Germany. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/hamburg-starkregenkarte/ (last verified 2026-08-28). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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