Emergency dike
The term emergency dike is described in more detail in the Lower Saxony Dyke Act. An emergency dike is then built if, in the event of an acute flood situation, there is a risk that the actual dike is no longer sufficiently stable.
Section 28 of the Lower Saxony Dyke Act
(1) If there is a risk that the dyke will no longer be able to withstand a storm surge, a water build-up when the tidal water is blocked or a flood, the person responsible for maintaining the dike must, by order of the dyke authority, create an emergency dike and maintain it until the endangered dike is reached has been repaired. Article 8 (3) b applies accordingly to the costs.
(2) The owners of the land on which the emergency dike was built and from which the dyke floor was removed may demand appropriate monetary compensation from the dyke maintenance agency for the restriction of use.
(3) If the emergency dike is not determined to be the second line of the dike (§29) after the main dike has been repaired, the owners on whose properties the emergency dike was built and from whose properties the dyke floor was removed can restore the old condition within one of the Dyke authorities request a deadline to be determined.