Published: 12 Jan 2011
- The number and impacts of disasters have
increased in Europe in the period 1998-2009,
a new report by the European Environment
Agency (EEA) concludes. The report assesses
the frequency of disasters and their impacts
on humans, the economy and ecosystems and
calls for better integrated risk disaster
management across Europe.
The Agency's new report
'Mapping the impacts of natural hazards
and technological accidents in Europe' addresses
three different types of hazards: hydrometeorological
or weather related (storms, extreme temperature
events, forest fires, droughts, floods),
geophysical (snow avalanches, landslides,
earthquakes, volcanoes) and technological
(oil spills, industrial accidents, toxic
spills from mining activities).
The increase in losses
can be explained to a large extent by higher
levels of human activity and accumulation
of economic assets in hazard-prone areas,
but also, to a smaller extent, by better
reporting. Although the share of losses
attributable to climate change is currently
impossible to determine accurately, it is
likely to increase in the future, since
the frequency and intensity of extreme weather
events are projected to grow.
Key facts and findings
In the period covered by the report, disasters
caused nearly 100 000 fatalities, affected
more than 11 million people and led to economic
losses of about EUR 150 billion.
Extreme temperature
events caused the highest number of human
fatalities. In total, more than 70 000 excess
deaths were reported in Europe during the
hot summer of 2003.
Flooding and storms
were the most costly hazards. The overall
losses recorded in the study period added
up to about EUR 52 billion for floods and
EUR 44 billion for storms.
The number and impacts
of geophysical hazards appeared relatively
stable during the period covered. Earthquakes
caused most harm with almost 19 000 recorded
fatalities and overall losses of about EUR
29 billion.
Technological accidents
caused the most severe ecosystem impacts.
The oil spills from the tankers Erika (1999)
and Prestige (2002) caused some of the worst
ecological disasters in European waters
and the toxic waste spills from the mining
activities in Aznacollar, Spain (1999),
and Baia Mare, Romania (2000), seriously
affected the environment not only in the
immediate aftermath, but also in the long
term.
Disaster risk reduction
and management
Although some EU policies have already been
adopted or initiated, more effort is needed
to implement an Integrated Risk Management
(IRM) approach that includes prevention,
preparedness, response and recovery for
all hazards across Europe. Some measures
are best suited to be managed at household
or municipal level, such as the improvement
of natural drainage to prevent pluvial flooding
or suitable care and housing for elderly
people that can buffer the effects of heat
waves.
Information gaps and
data needs
Successful disaster risk reduction and management
rely on solid evidence. Despite recent improvements
in the information and databases on several
types of hazards, establishing more comprehensive
information systems would significantly
improve the analysis and assessment of the
impacts.
Thank Yo
