On 29 and 30 October 2026, FlashFloodBreaker brought students and young, early-career professionals to Duisburg for a two-day Training Event on Flash Flood Emergency Response. The participants came from the academic branch of our partnership_ four European universities: Munster Technological University (MTU), the University of Liège, the University of Luxembourg and RWTH Aachen University. 

They brought backgrounds in civil and water engineering and the sciences. The training covered the whole spectrum of flood risk management. It went from understanding flood risks to modelling them, and from planning flood protection to responding when it matters most.

 

Step 1: Preparing online

From early October, participants worked through training videos online. They covered flash flood risk, drone applications and flood modelling, so everyone arrived in Duisburg with a shared foundation.

Day 1: In the classroom at Duisburg City Hall

The first day, hosted by the City of Duisburg, was about understanding flash floods before fighting them. After an introduction by Dr Joe Harrington (MTU), researchers from the University of Liège looked at how flash floods develop. 

They traced the risk chain from extreme rainfall to actual damage. They showed how land use, slope, soil moisture and the intensity of a storm decide whether heavy rain becomes a disaster. And they explained why flash floods need different management than ordinary river floods. Real cases illustrated each point, along with the options for protection, from permanent structures to temporary and mobile barriers.

Maria Paula Avila and Alexandre De Becker (University of Liège) explained the different types of inland floods, introducing the risk chain from extreme rainfall to actual damage

The focus then shifted to new technologies. Trainers from MTU and the University of Luxembourg showed how drones can support crisis management: 

Sean Carroll (MTU) and R. Teferle (University of Luxembourg) talking about Safe drone operations under EU regulations, capturing field data and processing images into maps for flood risk assessment.

In the afternoon, participants worked on the modelling tools that FlashFloodBreaker is piloting at catchment scale. MTU introduced hydrologic models and AI methods that automatically detect flooded areas and damage in drone images. RWTH Aachen covered hydraulic modelling, which simulates how water spreads across a landscape. Taken together, the day showed how digital data, models and artificial intelligence can help decision-makers see a flood coming and respond in time.

Day 2: Hands-on at the training levee of Feuerwehr Duisburg

On the second day, the training moved from the lecture room to the levee. At the full-scale training levee of the Duisburg Fire Department, participants worked alongside emergency responders. The exercise was led by Christian von Spiczak and Feuerwehr Duisburg. It was made possible together with Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband (EGLV), represented by Jörg Reinecke, and the local THW unit (THW Ortsverband Duisburg). Participants went through seven practical stations, and the video above shows how it went.  

 

1 Briefing & sandbag science 

The day began with safety rules and the basics of sandbag work: filling bags to the right weight, closing them so no sand is lost, and understanding why the way they are laid decides whether a wall holds.

2 - Mobile flood barriers

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Participants deployed modern mobile barrier elements, connected them and secured them into a temporary wall, quickly and without gaps.

3 - Filling & the human chain 

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Flood response relies on teamwork. Participants filled sandbags by hand and formed a handling chain with roughly one person per metre. They stood facing each other and passed the bags along without wasting energy. A practised worker can move around 80 sandbags per hour over ten metres.

4 – Building a sandbag levee 

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Layer by layer, the teams built a sandbag embankment. The bags were laid lengthwise along the direction of flow, the rows were staggered with a half-brick overlap, and the base was wider than the top, giving the wall a stable triangular cross-section. Each layer was trodden down to make it more watertight. Participants also learned how sandbags and plastic sheeting can raise the crest of a levee by up to about one metre, and how to reinforce damaged or eroding levee sections.

5 - Stacking on pallets 

Good preparation saves time when every minute counts. Filled sandbags were stacked on pallets, ready to be loaded, transported and deployed wherever they are needed.

6 – Improvised barriers 

Not every emergency comes with ideal equipment. Using mesh boxes, pallets and sandbags, the teams built improvised barriers from whatever material was available.

7 – Putting it to the test 

Finally, every structure was inspected. Where would water leak through? Where could bags slide? What would hold under real water pressure? Every lesson was shared with the group.

Stronger together, across borders

What made the training special was its mix of scientific knowledge, interdisciplinary exchange and practical experience. Students and young professionals from different universities, countries and disciplines learned from each other, compared perspectives and built connections across the European flood risk management community.