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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042420/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This report is an update on the 2004 European Environment Agency (EEA) report which mapped the impacts of recent natural disasters and technological accidents in Europe. It discusses disasters in Europe from 1998 to 2009. Disaster databases such as EM-DAT and NatCatSERVICE provided the bulk of data for this study. The document begins with a comprehensive overview of natural hazards in the continent. It covers three categories of hazards, and twelve hazards in total. These are (1) hydrometeorological hazards (storms, extreme temperature events, forest fires, water scarcity and droughts, and floods); (2) geophysical hazards (avalanches, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions); and (3) technological hazards (oil spills, industrial accidents, and toxic spills from mining activities). The report includes many useful tables that outline the frequency, type, location, and cost of hazards across European countries. Between 1998 and 2009, natural hazards and technological accidents caused about one hundred thousand fatalities, and affected eleven million people across Europe. The heat wave of 2002 over western and southern Europe (70 thousand fatalities), and the 1999 Izmit (Turkey) earthquake (17000 fatalities) were the most disastrous events at the time. The total cost of disaster reached about two hundred billion Euros (p.9). Heat waves, earthquakes, floods, and storms became the most fatal hazard types, with 339 major industrial accidents also occurring during this period (p.14). The report also places emphasis on the need for a comprehensive disaster risk management (DRM) approach to reduce the impact of natural and technological hazards throughout the region. It suggests that European countries should develop an Integrated Risk Management approach, which includes plans for disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (p.15). The report highlights the significant role that information on various hazards must play in these processes. Having noted that global disaster databases like EM-DAT and NatCatSERVICE are particularly useful for finding information on major events at the national level, the study calls for academics and practitioners to fill the gaps related to smaller events at the sub-national level (p.16). ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Management ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- Wehrli, A., Herkendell, J., Jol, A. (ed.) (2010). Mapping the impacts of natural hazards and technological accidents in Europe: an overview of the last decade. European Environment Agency (EEA), Technical Report No 13.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042420
17252237 ( issn )
9789292131685 ( isbn )
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