High Water, available on Netflix, tells the story of how a record-breaking flood in Poland was made worse by the government’s refusal to listen to warnings. Wroclaw hydrologist Jasmina Tremer warns of a possible flood as water levels rise rapidly in the city that borders the Oder River.
Poland’s administration, though, seemed more concerned about the Pope’s visit than the impending threat. Warnings reveal that the flood will wreak unprecedented destruction, but authorities believe that current precautions can save lives and property.
But the government’s risky bet backfires when a natural disaster that occurs only once per thousand years strikes Poland.
Is High Water A True Story?
The fictitious events of High Water are inspired by the Millennium Flood of 1997. While High Water’s premise and characters are made up, the show is inspired by the Millennium Flood of 1997. The disaster was felt in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
There was a low-pressure area that stretched from northern Italy through Moravia and Poland in 1997. Hot air from the Black Sea and the Mediterranean met the low-pressure region that had lingered over Poland for longer than planned.
As a result, the average rainfall for several months fell in just a few days throughout southwestern Poland and the northeastern Czech Republic. The water level was so high that it was impossible to measure with standard instruments. Since the probability of such a flood was below 0.1%, the Poles dubbed it the Millenium Flood.
Wroclaw, where Tremer has his office in High Water, was wiped out along with the other towns in the river’s path. At its height, the flood flooded 40 percent of Wroclaw.
Brilliantly, the town’s citizens and government responded by erecting a barrier network of more than 50 kilometers around the town’s historical sites and assets. The government evacuated over 162,000 individuals from an area covering 400 thousand acres. The flood was responsible for the deaths of 114 individuals.
Damages from the flood, estimated at $4.5 billion, made it one of the costliest natural disasters in Polish history. The show’s creator, Anna Kepinska, has said that the producers don’t place a high value on historical accuracy. The Netflix original film High Water is now streaming. Check out our reviews of some of Netflix’s top shows and movies.
What Is The Premise Of The TV Show “High Water?”
Wroclaw’s Polish government officials missed a crucial warning about an impending flood wave in May of 1997 because they were preoccupied with preparations for the Pope’s official visit. However, water levels in the area began to increase six weeks later, prompting officials to take action.
Jakub Marczak, one of the lawmakers, has high hopes for the upcoming elections and plays a pivotal role in the group assembled to deal with the crisis. Jakub contacts Jasmina Tremer, the hydrologist who originally gave the warning six weeks ago, and has her come to Wroclaw to offer her expert advice.
Originally from Wroclaw, Jasmina had left the city owing to her history and was traveling around Poland to study nature. A flood was undoubtedly going into Wroclaw, but the government’s selected specialists dismissed Jasmina’s opinion, stating the impact would be negligible.
From the get-go, Jasmina will not be pushed around by the professionals, and she would rather quit than be told she can’t accomplish something. While in Kety, a nearby village, she does some situational monitoring in the city’s suburbs and meets with a man named Andrzej Rebacz.
After taking stock of the situation, Jasmina concludes that the only option to stop the flood is to damage the flood banks in some regions to reroute the swelling water, and she shares this news with Jakub. The administrative team, primarily driven by Jakub, decides to listen to Jasmina and blow up the flood banks with explosives against the official experts’ advice.
It doesn’t take long for Jasmina and the others to realize that her evaluation was based on maps drawn thirty years ago and that, therefore, the natural path of rivers and the placement of human settlements had altered. This decision causes enormous disruption to local life and does nothing to prevent the approaching flood in Wroclaw.
Time is running out, and Jasmina and Jakub need to figure out how to stop the crisis while also figuring out how to fix their rocky relationship.
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