With the measure “Hydrological extreme events” (WaX) (ger.: Wasser-Extremereignisse), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding 12 research projects that develop new approaches for the management of water-related natural hazards such as heavy rain, floods and drought across disciplines and sectors. The flood disaster in the summer of 2021, as well as the droughts and heat waves of the preceding years, highlighted the need for research on these contrasting water extremes. Therefore, scientists, users and municipal associations from a total of 81 partner organisations throughout Germany are developing adaptation strategies that limit the impacts of hydrological extremes on society and the natural habitat and at the same time open up new perspectives for water management.