The 1999 Pentecost flood (german: Pfingsthochwasser 1999) was a

100-year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...

around the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

season in 1999 that mostly affected

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

and

Tirol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. It was caused by heavy rainfall coinciding with the regular Alpine

meltwater Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater can be ...

. By late May, the annual spring meltwater from the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

meant many Bavarian rivers were already at a high water level. On May 22 the rainstorm "Quartus" hit the northern Alps, bringing an additional 180 litres/m², causing the

Ammersee Ammersee (English: Lake Ammer) is a Zungenbecken lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany, southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany. The lake ...

and the

Amper The Amper, called the Ammer upstream of the Ammersee, through which it runs, is the largest tributary of the Isar in southern Bavaria, Germany. It flows generally north-eastward, reaching the Isar in Moosburg, about from its source in the Ammerga ...

and

Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Munic ...

rivers to expand and flood large areas. These flooded areas expanded quickly covering parts of the

Oberallgäu Oberallgäu is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Unterallgäu and Ostallgäu, the Austrian states Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the district of Lindau, and the state of ...

on the river

Iller The Iller (; ancient name Ilargus) is a river of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube, long. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Breitach, Stillach and Trettach near Oberstdorf in the Allgäu ...

. The flood then continued downstream to some of the more inhabited areas in Bavaria. The water level of the

, which flows through

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, was lowered by the

Sylvensteinspeicher Sylvenstein Dam is an earthen embankment dam in the Isar valley, in the alpine part of Upper Bavaria, Germany which impounds the Sylvenstein Reservoir (german: Sylvensteinspeicher). In the 1920s, several hydropower plants were built in the trib ...

reservoir near

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tö ...

. However causeways on the

failed, flooding

Sonthofen Sonthofen is the southernmost Town#Germany, town of Germany, located in the Oberallgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. Neighbouring Oberstdorf is situated 14 km farther south but is not classified as a town. In 2005, Sonthofen was awarded "Al ...

, parts of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

and Neustadt. In

Hindelang Bad Hindelang is a municipality in the district of Oberallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. As of 2008 it has a population of 4,915. Its sulphur spring was used for cures in the 19th century and today the municipality is a major health resort. Geograp ...

Hinterstein Bad Hindelang is a municipality in the district of Oberallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. As of 2008 it has a population of 4,915. Its sulphur spring was used for cures in the 19th century and today the municipality is a major health resort. Geograp ...

the flood reached a peak not recorded in the previous 250 years. A subsequent Alpine highwater on 23–24 August 2005 again did damage to these areas. In the

area the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

flood affected

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

damaging

Hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

and

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

. In

the village

Pflach Pflach is a municipality in the district of Reutte (district), Reutte in the Austrian state of state of Tyrol, Tyrol. It is 3 km north of the centre of Reutte town, and 2.5 km south of the German border. References

Cities and t ...

in Lechtal was flooded.

References

External links

*
Wasserwirtschaftsamt Freising: Pfingsthochwasser an der Amper Mai 1999Kelheim: Pfingsthochwasser in Kelheim und Neustadt im Mai 1999Hochwassernachrichtendienst Bayern: Pfingsthochwasser 1999 – ein Jahrhundertereignis an Iller, Ammer und Donau
1990s floods in Europe 1999 floods Natural disasters in Austria Floods in Germany Pentecost floods Pentecost floods Pentecost flood Pentecost flood Pentecost flood {{flood-stub