ABSTRACT
A mere 12 weeks after the high waters in southeastern Germany, Colorado's Rocky Mountain Front Range experienced torrential rainfall from September 9-13, 2013, which resulted in major flash floods over an area of roughly 2,000 square miles in the northern parts of the state. This chapter discusses the ideological implications of the global media reporting of the 2013 floods in southeastern Germany and Colorado, and subsequently highlights exemplary local framings of these two extreme weather events that were generally eclipsed in the global coverage. The numerous media photographs of the 2013 high water in Germany are therefore closely entangled with these previous cultural and historical experiences. Both high water events, however, are also embedded in complex geographical, cultural, and historical idiosyncrasies that tend to get lost in global media coverage that increasingly relies on spectacular photography to convey flood narratives. In this context, extreme weather events often offer a condensed insight into current societal disputes and disagreements.
