Brief Communication: From modeling to reality – Insights from a recent severe storm surge event along the German Baltic Sea coast

Abstract. In October 2023, Germany and Denmark’s Baltic Sea coasts experienced a severe storm surge, predominantly impacting the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and parts of southern Denmark. The surge led to extensive flooding in cities like Flensburg and Schleswig, causing the breaching of at least seven (regional) dikes and causing over 200 million Euros in damages in Schleswig-Holstein. This surge offers crucial insights for our understanding of flooding impacts, flood management and modelling. By analyzing recent studies from the region and extensive media reports, we aim to extract key insights and propose strategies for improving flood risk modelling in the Baltic Sea region and beyond.