Polski
On October 13, 2023. An overview of areas at risk of flooding within the Union has been launched at the initiative of the European Commission. The new tool is intended to assist decision-makers and professionals in making decisions with an eye to the risks associated with river flooding and waterlogging. Access to the browser is open to all and free of charge.
Flood risk in the EU
In August 2023. Giant floods have hit Slovenia and adjacent regions of Austria and Croatia. Seven people were killed and 16,000 were killed. remained without electricity, hundreds of homes suffered flooding. Numerous destructive mudslides have also been reported. In September, 43 people and 180,000 people lost their lives in two flood waves across Greece. livestock. Eight villages were evacuated, and in addition to electricity outages, there were also problems with the supply of drinking water.
According to the EU’s Commissioner for Economic Affairs. Environment Minister Virginijus Sinkevičius, the humanitarian and economic costs of flooding in southern Europe will be colossal. Unfortunately, extreme weather events have been on the rise in recent years, with unprecedentedly heavy rainfall increasingly threatening us alongside droughts. Society must prepare for worst-case scenarios so that it can adapt to new conditions. The online flood risk area viewer is intended to facilitate this process.
Close cooperation at the European level
The launch of the browser coincided with a meeting of the European Commission, representatives of member countries and other stakeholders. Its idea is to strengthen cooperation at the international level in accordance with the provisions of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC).
The Flood Hazard Area Viewer is designed to provide key information needed for risk management in a simple, easy-to-read and user-friendly manner. The tool brings together data from different countries in one place, making it easier to coordinate actions in situations of cross-border incidents. Data is provided by individual member states in cooperation with the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA).
How does the flood risk area viewer work?
According to the October status of the new online tool, up to 14,000. areas in the European Union are subject to significant flood risk. They are visualized in the form of an interactive map, where the zones at risk are marked in orange. For ease of use, the map has an option to change layers, such as topographic or OpenStreetMap.
By zooming in on individual locations and clicking on the map, the user is redirected to documents prepared at the national level. These include preliminary flood risk assessments, detailed hazard maps and risk management plans in national languages.
The EU Flood Risk Area Viewer takes into account the possibility of changes in the level of risk over time, obliging member states to periodically verify the data. According to the Floods Directive, updates to flood risk management plans should be carried out every six years. The current documents cover the period 2022-2027.
