The 1999 Pentecost flood () was a

100-year flood A 100-year flood, also called a 1% flood,Holmes, R.R., Jr., and Dinicola, K. (2010) ''100-Year flood–it's all about chance 'U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 106/ref> is a flood event at a level that is reached or exceeded onc ...

around the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

season in 1999 that mostly affected

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , 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 the state with the second-highest popu ...

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

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

. By late May, the annual spring meltwater from the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

meant many Bavarian rivers were already at a high water level. On 22 May 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 ...

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 Amme ...

and

Isar The Isar () is a river in Austria and in Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel mountain range of the Alps. The Isar river enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Krün, Wallgau, Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching ...

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

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

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

, which flows through

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, was lowered by the

Sylvensteinspeicher Sylvenstein Dam is an earthen and rockfilled embankment dam in the Isar valley, in the alpine part of Upper Bavaria, Germany which impounds the multipurpose Sylvenstein Reservoir (). It was built with the primary aim of flood protection for the ...

reservoir near

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a 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 Tölz since the retreat of the gla ...

. However causeways on the Iller 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 classified as a market town. In 2005, Sonthofen was awarded ...

, parts of

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

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 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 The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

flood affected

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three 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, called the Seerhein (). These ...

damaging Hard and

Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...

. In Tirol the village Pflach in

Lechtal The Lechtal is an alpine valley in Austria, the greater part of which belongs to the state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the smaller part to Vorarlberg. The Lech (river), Lech river flows through the valley. Location The valley is bounded geogr ...

was flooded.

References

External links

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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 1999 disasters in Europe 1999 in Austria 20th-century disasters in Austria Pentecost flood {{flood-stub