COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Report on the progress in implementation of the Floods Directive Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL The Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive: Actions towards the 'good status' of EU water and to reduce flood risks
Date: 2015-03-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, climate change, economic consequence, environmental impact, environmental risk prevention, flood, less-favoured region, public health, water management













EUR-Lex - 52015SC0051 - EN











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52015SC0051

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Report on the progress in implementation of the Floods Directive Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL The Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive: Actions towards the 'good status' of EU water and to reduce flood risks /* SWD/2015/0051 final */









TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.     Summary......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
2.     Context............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
3.     Approaches taken by Member States................................................................................................................... 5
4.     History of flooding................................................................................................................................................... 6
5.     Identification of potential significant future floods.......................................................................... 10
6.     Predicting the impact of potential future floods................................................................................... 11
7.     Identification of Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk............................................................... 11
8.     Taking account of climate change and other future changes.......................................................... 13
9.     International Coordination.............................................................................................................................. 17
10.    Preparation of Flood Hazard and Flood Risk maps................................................................................ 19
11.    Conclusions............................................................................................................................................................... 23
12.   Annex.............................................................................................................................................................................. 25

1.      Summary

There
has been a multitude of approaches across Europe in assessing the risk of
flooding and implementing the requirements of the Floods Directive. Eighteen
Member States decided to undertake a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment as
described by the Directive across their entire territories and for all
potential sources of flooding. Other Member States used transitional measures:
Luxembourg and Latvia decided to use existing risk assessments to identify
flood risk areas across their whole territories. Belgium, Italy, the
Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia decided to use existing flood hazard and
flood risk maps across their whole territories and did not undertake a
Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment as described by the Directive. Germany,
Spain, and the United Kingdom used a mixture of approaches across their
territories.
Where
information is available Member States should use records of historic floods in
assessing where there is a significant risk of future flooding. Twenty two
Member States provided information on historic floods some dating back to the 1st
century but most relating to floods since the 1950s. The most common historical
floods were from rivers.
Results
from the assessment of flood risk have been used to identify areas where there
is potential significant flood risk and to assess the resulting potential
impacts on people’s health, the economy, environment and cultural heritage.
Around 8,000 such areas have been identified by 23 Member States with Croatia
identifying the most (2,976). Flooding from rivers was, as for historic floods,
the most common source associated with flood risk areas and the economy was the
most common aspect to be potentially impacted in these areas.
Flood
hazard and flood risk maps have been prepared by most Member States with the
potential flooding from rivers being most often mapped. Most Member States with
a coastline have also mapped potential sea water flooding. In some Member
States it seems that flooding from a number of sources has been combined in a
single map.
The
assessment of flood risk would ideally include an assessment of the impact of
climate change and other long term changes, such as from changes in land use,
that would have an impact on flooding consequences. Even though the
consideration of climate change beyond available or readily deliverable
information was not a requirement of the Floods Directive at this cycle of
implementation, 14 Member States considered climate change in their assessment
of flood risk and 11 Member States other long terms changes. 11 Member States
have also taken climate change into account when preparing their flood maps.
Member
States are required to cooperate and coordinate with other Member States
sharing river basins that cross national borders. This appears to have been
done in all Member States for the assessment of flood risk and in the
preparation of flood maps in cross border river basins, with the River
Commissions such as those for the Danube and Rhine playing key roles in
coordination and information exchange.
The
next step is for Member States to use the maps to develop Flood Risk Management
Plans by December 2015.

2.     
Context

Floods
have the potential to cause fatalities, displacement of people and damage to
the environment, to severely compromise economic development and to undermine
the economic activities of the European Union. The development of a Directive
on floods was considered after the huge and devastating floods that struck
Central Europe in 2002. The EU Directive on the assessment and management of
flood risks [2007/60/EC], often referred to as the ‘Floods’ Directive, was
adopted on 23 October 2007 and came into force on 26 November 2007. Whereas the
Water Framework Directive [2000/60/EC] is concerned with the protection of
water as a resource, the purpose of the Floods Directive is the establishment
of a framework for the assessment and management of flood risks.
The
approach to the reduction of the adverse consequences for human health, the
environment, cultural heritage and economic activity associated with floods in
the European Union is based on a six year cycle of planning, subject to the
application of transitional arrangements in the first cycle. During each cycle,
the
FD is to be implemented in Member States in three stages. 
During
the first stage, the Directive requires Member States to make a preliminary
assessment of flood risk (referred to as Preliminary Flood Risk
Assessments-PFRAs) over their territory leading to the identification of any
areas that are at significant risk of flooding at the present time or in the
future (referred to as ‘Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk-APSFRs): this
should have been completed by December 2011.
During
the second stage, the risk areas should be mapped (referred to as Flood Hazard
and Risk Maps-FHRMs for the APSFRs identified) showing how far floods might
extend, the depth or level of water and the impacts that there might be on
people, the economy, environment and cultural heritage. The size of risk areas
will vary according to the severity of flooding events and - because of this -
different likelihoods or probabilities of flooding (for example a 1% event)
should be considered and mapped. The assessment of flood risk and mapping must
be coordinated between the Member States sharing river basins that cross
national boundaries. Maps should have been prepared by December 2013.
The
maps are to be used in the development of flood risk management plans (FRMPs)
during the third stage, to be completed and published by December 2015 thereby
harmonizing with the WFD River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) cycle. The
FRMPs should focus on the reduction of the potential adverse impacts of
flooding on people’s health, the economy, environment and cultural heritage,
with measures on flood prevention, protection, and preparedness.
Some
Member States have a legacy of assessing and managing the risk of flooding and
already have and use flood maps. These Member States are able to make use of
existing flood risk assessments and maps subject to certain conditions
described in the Directive. As a result, not all Member States have produced
Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments or identified Areas of Potential Significant
Flood Risk as required by the Floods Directive for part or the whole of their
territory. Under the same transitional measures, Member States are also able to
use existing flood risk management plans as long as their content
is equivalent to that described in the Directive.

3.      Approaches taken by Member States

The
standard approach of the Directive is for Member States to undertake a
preliminary assessment of flood risk across their territories and use the
results to identify areas where there are present or future potential significant
risks of flooding. The assessments should also consider all potential sources
of flooding such as from rivers, lakes, coastal waters, groundwater and surface
water flooding from heavy rainfall. Artificial structures holding water, such
as dams, reservoirs and canals, also represent a potential significant source
of flooding, particularly if there were to be a catastrophic failure of the
structure.
Member
States were also able to use existing flood risk assessments if they were
suitable for identifying areas at significant risk of flooding from all
potential sources and in all parts of their territory. If existing risk
assessments did not cover all potential sources of significant flooding or the
whole country, then a new preliminary flood risk assessment was required for
those specific flood sources and/or for areas/river basins not previously
assessed. 
Maps
showing the hazards and risks from flooding are required for those areas
identified as being at a significant risk of flooding. Some Member States
already had existing maps and they were able to use these (if the information
provided is equivalent to that described by the Directive) rather than
producing new maps.
Because
there were differences within and between Member States in terms of existing flood
risk assessments and flood hazard and flood risk maps, there is a multitude of
approaches taken across the EU. This is illustrated in Map 2.1.The river basins
and Member States coloured blue indicate where a preliminary flood risk
assessment under the Floods Directive has been undertaken leading to the
identification of areas of potential significant flood risk in their river
basins for potentially significant sources of flood. In those river basins or
Member States coloured green existing flood risk assessments have been used to
identify areas of potential significant flood risk for relevant sources of
flooding. Finally in those river basins and Member States coloured red it was
decided to use existing flood hazard and flood risk maps without undertaking a
preliminary flood risk assessment (as described in the Floods Directive)
leading to the identification of areas of potential significant flood risk. 
Map 2.1          Approaches
used by Member States in assessing flood risk and identifying areas of potential
significant flood risk

4.     
History of flooding

The
assessment of flood risk takes account of historical significant floods, where
records are available. Historic records may include records on the land area
covered by, and the duration of, floods and the subsequent adverse impacts on
people’, the economy, environment and cultural heritage.
Member
States
reported on the historic flood events that were considered in their preliminary
flood risk assessments.
Figure
3.1       Number
of reported historic flood events by Member State
Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and
Portugal did not report information on historic flood events because they
decided to use existing flood risk assessments and flood risk maps. Slovakia
reported information on historic floods even though it was decided to use
existing flood risk assessments. Member States reported flood events with data
on type and consequences. When this was not possible, a description of the
event was provided: this equates to “No data”.
The
largest number of historic flood events reported was by Spain (6,165) followed
by Poland (4,860) and France (2,248). A number of Member States (e.g. Hungary,
Sweden and the UK) reported historic floods with no supporting information on
sources of flood, their impacts and dates: these are indicated as “No data” in
Figure 3.1.
Figure
3.2 summarises the time periods covered by the reported historic flood events.
The oldest flood event dated back to 100 AD from Spain. Most of the oldest
events relate to river and coastal water floods probably because of the extent
of the impact they had on people. The highest proportion of recent flood events
are for surface water flooding from heavy rainfall events and groundwater
floods. Around 60% of events were recorded from 2000 onwards.
Figure
3.2       Time
periods of reported historic flood events
Based on data from AT, BG, CY, CZ, DE,
DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, LT, LV, MT, PL, RO, SE, SI, SK, UK. The
numbers in brackets after the source of flood refers to "the number of
events reported" from "the number of Member States". 
By
far the most common source of reported historical flood events is river water
floods (66% of events) followed by surface water flooding from heavy rainfall
(20%) and coastal water floods (16%). The least common sources are from
artificial structures holding water and groundwater (both 1%).
Member
States undertaking a preliminary assessment of flood risk were required to make
an assessment of which sources of flood were potentially significant in terms
of past and potential future impacts on people, the economy, environment and
cultural heritage based on readily available information including the historic
flood events described above.
Table
3.1 summarises the sources of floods that Member States considered to be
significant and should be included for more detailed assessment of the
potential significant risk they represent.
Table
3.1        Summary
of the sources of flooding considered by Member States to be significant, not
significant and not relevant
 Rivers || Lakes || Surface water flooding || Ground water || Coastal waters || Tsunamis || Artificial structures containing water || Canals || Reservoirs or impoundments 
 AT ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 BE ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 BG ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 CY ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 CZ ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 DE ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 DK ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 EE ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 EL ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 ES ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 FI ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 FR ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 HR ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 HU ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 IE ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 IT ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 LT ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 LU ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 LV ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 MT ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 NL ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 PL ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 PT ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 RO ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 SE ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 SI ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 SK ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 UK ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
Key:
 Potentially significant source of flooding 
 Not considered as a significant source 
 Not relevant 
 No information 
 Not undertaken a preliminary flood risk assessment as per the Directive 
Flooding
from rivers and surface water flooding from heavy rainfall were considered to
be significant sources by most Member States undertaking an assessment. Coastal
water flooding was also considered by most Member States with a coastline
though it was not always considered as being significant. The consideration of
flooding from sewerage was considered by a few Member States, as was the
significance of flooding from tsunamis, by at least two Member States.

5.     
Identification of potential significant future
floods 

The assessment of flood risk can take into account historic events
where they were considered to be significant in terms of the effects on
people’s health, the economy, environment and cultural heritage. However, just
because some flood events may have been significant in the past does not
necessarily mean that they are now or will be in the future, or vice versa.
This is because there is likely to have been significant changes in land use
and built up areas since some flood events occurred, particularly the older
ones. The chance of the recurrence of any particular flood event in any
location is also likely to be affected by changes in climate.
As
well as using appropriate historic records of flooding, Member States have also
used other tools and methods to assess the significance of potential future
floods. In some cases flood simulations and (simplified)
modelling using digital representations of the landscape around potential
sources of floods have been used to calculate flood areas and to produce flood
maps. These maps may have also been combined with land use maps to identify
potential significant floods. In others cases historical floods may have been
reconstructed and mapped.
At
the European level the most common source of potential future flooding was
again river water floods (76% of the derived potential events) and the least
from groundwater and from artificial structures
containing water (both 2%).

6.      Predicting the impact of potential future floods

As
well as assessing where significant future floods may occur with the coverage
and depth of water over the flooded land, Member States had to assess the
potential impacts on people’s health, the economy, environment and cultural
heritage. The approaches used by Member States to assess the impacts of
flooding were very diverse.
For
some Member States there was a lack of information that made a detailed
assessment of the impacts of potential future floods difficult. However, nearly
all Member States considered the potential impacts on people’s health, the
economy, environment and cultural heritage though often it was not clear what
specific criteria had been used to define a significant impact: expert judgment
was often used.
More
quantitative approaches included the use of flood risk indicators often
associated with indices of risk, with thresholds of significance based on the
number of people and residents potentially affected, the total economic damage,
and if any vital economic activities would be threatened.

7.      Identification of Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk

The
results of the preliminary flood risk assessment should be used to identify
present and future areas of potential significant flood risk (APSFR). Figure
6.1 shows the number of APSFR identified by Member States. Croatia has
identified the most APSFRs (2,976) followed by Spain and Hungary and Malta the
fewest.
Figure
6.1       Number
of identified Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk
Based on 8013 identified APSFRs from AT,
BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, LT, LU, LV, PL, RO, SE, SI,
SK, UK; MT did not identify any APSFRs (December 2015); BE, IT, NL and PT did
not identify new APSFRs under the present exercise. The APSFRs in the UK were
those identified for the Directive’s preliminary flood risk assessment
undertaken for some parts of the UK and for some sources of flooding: in other
parts of the UK existing risk assessments were used for some sources of floods.
HU identified large geographical areas. PT identified a number of risk zones
based on historic data. Note that when comparing the numbers in table 6.1 to
the number of APSFRs per MS in the Annex more than one source of flooding often
applies to an APSFR.
Figure
6.2 summarises the source of floods and potential impacts associated with the
APSFRs. The types of flood associated with APSFRs follow a similar pattern as
for historic and potential future floods. 91% of APSFRs were associated with
river floods and only 0.3% with groundwater floods. Potential impacts on the
economy were associated with the greatest proportion (96%) of APSFRs.
Figure 6.2       Sources
and impacts of floods associated with Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk
Based on 8013 ASPRs from AT,
BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, LT, LU, LV, PL, RO, SE, SI,
SK, UK;
Areas
of potential significant flood risk can be viewed on a European level by
clicking on the following link: http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/interactive/floods-directive-pfra-apsfr.

8.     
 Taking account of
climate change and other future changes

Where
possible the effects of climate change on the occurrence and impacts of
flooding may have been considered when undertaking a first assessment of flood
risk but climate change will have to be taken into account when current risk
assessments are reviewed and revised in the future.
Land
use planning is also an important factor in flood risk management by, for
example, reducing the probability of flooding by controlling land use in flood
source areas. Floodplains are increasingly regarded as potential natural water
retention areas, or for providing space to the river. The commitment of land
use planners and decision makers at the local level is needed to control
development of such flood prone areas.
Fourteen
of the 23 Member States undertaking a Directive Preliminary Flood Risk
Assessment have considered the potential effects of climate change (Table 7.1).
Often trends from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or national
research programmes have been used but it was mostly unclear how. Some Member
States provided more detailed information. Germany, for example, refers to
modelling, statistical assessment and scenario building.
In
most Member States that have considered other long term developments (e.g.
Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia and Latvia) it was unclear from the
reporting how they were assessed.
Table 7.1        Summary
of which long term changes have been considered in the assessment of flood risk
by Member States
 MS || Climate change || Development of settlements || Development of infrastructure || Socio-economic developments 
 AT ||   ||   ||   ||   
 BE || Directive Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment not undertaken 
 BG ||   ||   ||   ||   
 CY ||   ||   ||   ||   
 CZ ||   ||   ||   ||   
 DE ||   ||||||   
 DK ||   ||   ||   ||   
 EE ||   ||   ||   ||   
 EL ||   
 ES ||||   ||   ||   
 FI ||   ||   ||   ||   
 FR ||   ||   ||   ||   
 HR ||   
 HU ||   ||   ||   ||   
 IE ||   ||   ||   ||   
 IT || Directive Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment not undertaken 
 LT ||   ||   ||   ||   
 LU || Directive Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment not undertaken 
 LV ||   ||   ||   ||   
 MT ||   ||   ||   ||   
 NL || Directive Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment not undertaken 
 PL ||   ||   ||   ||
 PT || Directive Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment not undertaken 
 RO ||   ||   ||   ||   
 SE ||   ||   ||   ||   
 SI ||   ||   ||   ||   
 SK ||   ||   ||   ||   
 UK ||   ||   ||   ||   
Key
 Long-term trend considered 
 Long-term trend not considered 
 Not reported 
The
impact of climate change on the occurrence of floods should, where possible, be
taken into account in a preliminary flood risk assessment and in the subsequent
reviews of the preliminary flood risk assessment and flood risk management
plans. Table 7.2 shows, 11 Member States have taken climate change into account
when preparing their flood maps. For example, in Sweden the medium probability
flood maps for river and lake flooding took account of predicted changes in
climate to 2098. In Denmark, three future climate change scenarios were
included in preparing medium probability maps for river and coastal flooding:
for example, a 30 cm increase in sea level was considered.
Table
7.2        Summary
of how climate change was accounted for in the preparation of flood maps
   || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 
 AT || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes 
 BE || No || No || No || No || Yes || Yes 
 BG || Not reported as of December 2015 
 CY || Yes || No || No || No || Yes || No 
 CZ || No || No || Yes || No || Yes || Yes 
 DE || Yes || No || No || No || Yes || Yes 
 DK || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes 
 EE || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 EL || Not reported as of December 2015 
 ES || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 FI || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes 
 FR || Yes || No || Yes || No || No || No 
 HR || Not reported as of December 2015 
 HU || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 IE || Yes || No || No || No || No || No 
 IT || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 LT || Yes || Yes || Yes || No || No || Yes 
 LU || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 LV || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 MT || Not reported as of December 2015 
 NL || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 PL || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 PT || Reported late 
 RO || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 SE || Yes || No || No || No || No || No 
 SI || No || No || No || No || No || No 
 SK || Yes || No || Yes || No || Yes || Yes 
 UK || Yes || No || Yes || No || Yes || No 
Key to columns
 1 || Climate change has been taken into account 
 2 || Climate change trend scenarios have been obtained from international  research programmes 
 3 || Climate change trend scenarios have been obtained from the national research programmes 
 4 || Flood hazard scenarios are based on modelling of changes in flood hazard in relation to climate change 
 5 || Flood hazard scenarios included trend analysis of historical data of hydrological and meteorological observations 
 6 || Flood hazard scenarios included a statistical assessment of historical climate data 

9.     
International Coordination

Member
States sharing river basins that cross international borders must cooperate in
their assessments of flood risk and coordinate their identification of
areas of potential significant flood risk in the shared basins. Based on the
Water Framework Directive, there are 128 RBDs designated in the EU,
of which 49 are international. If each national part of an international RBD is
counted separately, the total number of RBDs is 170 of which 91 have an
international component where the assessment of flood risk should be
coordinated.
Often
coordination is achieved through international river commissions, such as the
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and the
International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine.
Bilateral
border commissions are also relatively common, providing a formalised mechanism
for two Member States to exchange information and coordinate actions to manage
flood risk as well as other water management issues. Similarly, various
international coordination and working groups have been established to carry
out specific roles in flood risk management, including decision-making, the
provision of advice (e.g. between Ireland and the UK), coordination of measures
and the implementation of flood risk management measures (e.g. in the Danube).
Member
States sharing
river basins and areas of potential significant flood risk should also exchange
information with the relevant Member States prior to the preparation
of flood maps. There seems to have been exchange of information in all Member
States sharing river basins (and those with available information) for most, if
not all, of their shared basins (Table 8.1). International River Commissions
play a significant role in this information exchange. For example, for Austria
information was exchanged via the Danube, Rhine and Elbe River Commissions, for
Belgium (Flanders) via the Scheldt and the Meuse River Commissions and for
Germany via the Rhine, Elbe, Meuse and Danube River Commissions. Information is
exchanged between Ireland and the UK using the Floods Directive Cross Border
Implementation Group and the Floods Directive Cross Border Technical Working
Group. Data is shared and the mapping output reviewed to ensure it is
consistent.
Table
8.1        Summary
of the prior exchange of information on the preparation of flood maps between
Member States sharing flood risk areas
 MS || Number of cross border  river basins with flood risk areas shared with another Member State || Number of cross border river basins with flood risk areas shared with another Member State where information was exchanged 
 AT || 3 || 3 
 BE || 7 || 6 
 BG || Not reported as of December 2014 
 CY || 0 || Not applicable 
 CZ || 0 || Not applicable 
 DE || 8 || 5 
 DK || 0 ||  Not applicable 
 EE || 0 || Not applicable 
 EL || Not reported as of December 2014 
 ES || 1 || 1 
 FI || 2 || 2 
 FR || 4 || 4 
 HR || Not reported as of December 2014 
 HU || 1 || 1 
 IE || 2 || 2 
 IT || 3 || 3 
 LT || 2 || 2 
 LU || 1 || 1 
 LV || 2 || 2 
 MT || Not reported as of December 2014 
 NL || 4 || 4 
 PL || 3 || 1 
 PT || Reported late (of the 22 critical areas identified by Portugal, there are three in international rivers, one on the Tagus River and two on the Douro River) 
 RO || 4 || 4 
 SE || 1 || 1 
 SI || 2 || 2 
 SK || 0 || Not applicable 
 UK || 2 || 2 

10.   Preparation of Flood Hazard and Flood Risk
maps[1]

Maps
showing the hazards and risks of flooding should have been prepared and made
available to the public by December 2013.
The
maps should show at least the hazards and risks to potentially affected people,
areas of economic activity, and, where present, installations which might cause
accidental pollution should they be flooded, and other vulnerable features such
as nature protection areas. Maps should be prepared covering a range of
different probabilities of occurrence of flooding events (e.g. those with low,
medium and high probabilities).
Most
Member States (22) have published maps on flooding from rivers and in some
cases (e.g. Cyprus) no distinction is made between river flooding and flooding
from surface water run-off resulting from heavy rainfall (Table 9.1). There is
no specific distinction made between sources of flooding in the maps prepared
by the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Potential flooding from
the failure of water bearing structures has been mapped in some areas of Spain
(dams), Sweden (impoundments), and in the UK (reservoirs). Other than the
Netherlands and Sweden, all Member States with a coastline (that have provided
information) have prepared specific maps on coastal flooding.
Table
9.1        Summary of sources of flooding for which flood maps have been
prepared by Member States
 Rivers || Surface water run-off || Coastal water || Groundwater || Artificial structures holding water || Sewers 
 AT ||||||||||||
 BE ||||||||||||
 BG || Not reported as of December 2014 
 CY ||||||||||||
 CZ |||| 1 |||| 1 ||   ||
 DE ||||||||||||
 DK ||||||||||||
 EE ||||||||||||
 EL || Not reported as of December 2014 
 ES ||||||||||||
 FI ||||||||||||
 FR ||||||||||||
 HR || Not reported as of December 2014 
 HU ||||||||||||
 IE ||||||||||||
 IT ||||||||||||
 LT ||||||||||||
 LU ||||||||||||
 LV ||||||||||||
 MT || Not reported as of December 2014 
 NL |||| 1 || 1 || 1 ||||
 PL ||||||||||||
 PT || Reported late 
 RO ||||||||||||
 SE ||||||||||||
 SI ||||||||||||
 SK |||| 1 |||| 1 ||   ||
 UK |||||||||||| 2 
Key
 Published for all relevant areas ||   
 Published in some but not all relevant areas ||   
 Need for maps assessed but not published ||   
 Not published or assessed or no clear  information ||   
 Flood source not relevant to Member States ||   
1   Specific sources of
flooding are not clear on maps
2   Mapped with surface
water flooding in one region of the UK
Maps
have been made available to the public in the majority of Member States. In
most of these Member States, maps showing low, medium and high probabilities of
flooding have been prepared: in few Member States, medium and low probability
maps were prepared. In most maps, the potential extent of flood water is shown
and in over half of maps the depth of flood water is shown. 
A
review of the methods used by (23) Member States in preparing their flood maps
shows that most of them used a 1% probability for mapping the medium
probability events. A range of probabilities from 0.01% to 0.5% (11 Member
States use 0.1%) were used for extreme events, and a range of probabilities
from 2% to 20% for the high probability, relatively common events.
Maps
showing the potential impacts of flooding most often include an indication of
the number of inhabitants potentially affected for each of the probabilities
and sources of flooding. Potentially more inhabitants would be affected by
flooding from low probability or extreme, rare events than from medium or high
probability (more common) events. Information is available from 17 Member
States on the number of potentially affected inhabitants from medium
probability river floods (Table 9.2). The values are for specific areas
identified by the preliminary flood risk assessment as being at risk or at the
level of the river basin. Because of differences in the probabilities of
flooding and in the methods used to calculate the numbers of affected
inhabitants, the numbers between Member States are not directly comparable but
are intended to provide a general overview of the scale of the potential effect
on exposed inhabitants.Table 9.2        Summary
of number of potentially affected inhabitants from medium probability river
floods
 MS   || Overall Inhabitants potentially affected (1000's) 
 In identified flood risk areas || In river basins 
 AT || 343 ||   
 BE ||   || 270 
 BG || Not reported as of December 2015 
 CY || 15 ||   
 CZ ||   || 290 
 DE || 1759 ||   
 DK || Information not available 
 EE || Low probability floods only mapped 
 EL || Not reported as of December 2015 
 ES || 1150 ||   
 FI || 20 ||   
 FR || 1412 ||   
 HR || Not reported as of December 2015 
 HU || Low probability floods only mapped 
 IE || 73 ||   
 IT ||   || 6185 
 LT ||   || 16 
 LU || River flooding not significant 
 LV || Not known ||   
 MT || Not reported as of December 2015 
 NL ||   || 1284 
 PL || 406 ||   
 PT || Not processed yet due to late reporting 
 RO || 769 ||   
 SE || Source of flooding not available 
 SI || 32 ||   
 SK || 102 ||   
 UK * || 127 || 127 
Note:
*
Excluding England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland also provided values
at the river basin level which included the specific flood risk areas.
For
around two thirds of the Member States maps also showed (when relevant) the
potential impacts on the economy, the location of potential sources of
pollution (if flooded) and impacts on the environment. Half of the Member
States showed impacts on cultural heritage.

11.  Conclusions 

1.      Eighteen
Member States decided to undertake a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment as
described by the Directive across their whole territories and for all potential
sources of flooding. 
2.      Luxembourg
and Latvia decided to use existing risk assessments to identify flood risk
areas across their whole territories. 
3.      Belgium,
Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal decided to use existing flood hazard and
flood risk maps and did not undertake a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment as
described by the Directive. Slovakia undertook a risk assessment and identified
areas of potential flood risk but then decided to use existing flood hazard and
flood risk maps.
4.      Germany,
Spain and the United Kingdom used a mixture of approaches across their
territories.
5.      Twenty
two Member States provided information on historic floods some dating back to
the 1st century but most relating to floods since the 1950s. The
most common historical floods were from rivers.
6.      Around
8,000 areas of potential significant flood risk have been identified by 23
Member States with Croatia identifying the most (2,976). Flooding from rivers
was the most common source associated with the areas and the economy was the
most common aspect to be potentially impacted in these areas.
7.      Flood
hazard and flood risk maps have been prepared by most Member States with the
potential flooding from rivers being most often mapped. Most Member States with
a coastline have also mapped potential coastal water flooding. In some Member
States it seems that flooding from a number of sources has been combined in a
single map.
8.      Climate
change was considered by 14 Member States when assessing the risk of flooding
and 11 Member States considered other long terms changes such as potential
changes in land use. 11 Member States have also taken climate change into
account when preparing their flood maps.
9.      Many
Member States have coordinated their assessments of flood risk in river basins
that they share with other Member States. Many have also exchanged information
prior to the preparation of their flood maps. River Commissions such as those
for the Danube, Rhine, Elbe and Scheldt have played key roles in coordination
and the prior exchange of information.

12. 
Annex

The assessment and mapping of flood
risk per Member State

Introduction

In
the following pages the assessment and mapping of flood risk is briefly
discussed per Member State with the following structure (text applies to all
Member States):

Types of flooding

Type of floods examined by
the MS.

History of
flooding

The assessment of flood risk
takes account of historical floods where records are available. Historic
records may include records on the land area covered by, and the duration of,
floods and the subsequent adverse impacts on people’s health, the economy,
environment and cultural heritage.

Areas at risk of
flooding now and in the future

The assessment of flood risk
can take into account historic events where they were considered to be
significant in terms of the effects on people’s health, the economy,
environment and cultural heritage. Just because some flood events may have been
significant in the past does not necessarily mean that they are now or will be
in the future, or vice versa. This is because there is likely to have been
significant changes in land use and built up areas since some flood events
occurred, particularly the older ones. The chance of the recurrence of any
particular flood event in any location is also likely to be affected by
expected changes in climate.
Areas of potential significant flood risk can be viewed on: http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/interactive/floods-directive-pfra-apsfr

Flood Hazard and
Flood Risk maps

Maps showing the hazards and
risks of flooding should be prepared and made available to the public. The maps
should show at least the hazards and risks to potentially affected people,
areas of economic activity, and, where present, sources of potential pollution
should they be flooded, and other vulnerable features such as water
abstractions and nature protection areas. Maps should be prepared covering a
range of different probabilities of occurrence of flooding events (e.g. those
with low, medium and high probabilities). Maps are required for the areas identified
as being at a significant risk from the relevant types of flood such as those
associated with the identified areas of potential significant flood risk shown
above.
Examples of Members State Flood Hazard
and Risk Maps can be viewed on:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/flood_risk/implem.htm
The next steps
The maps are to be used in
the development of flood risk management plans that need to be completed and
published by 22 December 2015. The plans should focus on the reduction of the
adverse impacts of flooding on people’s health, the economy, environment and
cultural heritage, with planned measures and actions on flood prevention,
protection, and preparedness.
Information on the EU Floods Directive can be found on: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/flood_risk/index.htm
A
pan-European Flood Hazard and Flood Risk map viewer will be hosted by the
European Environment Agency in the near future:
http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/interactive/by-category/floods-directive

AT-Austria

§    
Types of flooding

Austria undertook a preliminary
assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which included rivers and surface water flooding from
heavy rainfall, dams and reservoirs, and groundwater. The authorities in
Austria reviewed past events and found that river flooding had caused the most
impact.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Austria, going back to the 1890’s, with some 173
events since the year 2000. There are fewer records on floods from surface
water flooding, with only 14 since the year 2000.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

The location and risk of
future floods were largely predicted using geographic computer modelling and
impact assessments on human health, economy, cultural heritage sites and
environment. 
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. The vulnerability of
river catchments to climate change was assessed using information in the
computer models to estimate the potential increase in flood risk from river
flooding because of climate changes; the predicted effects of climate changes
on flood risk has also been assessed by using spatial planning data and expert
knowledge.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in Austria.
Austria shares a total of
three international river basins (the Danube, the Elbe and the Rhine) with
Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia,
Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia and
Liechtenstein as immediate neighbours. The
assessment of flood risk in these three international basins has been
coordinated between the respective national authorities, and it is the
intention that one joint flood risk management plan will be produced for each
basin.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Austria:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall 
 Austria || 385 || 6 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Austria
 
 Title || Source 
 Overview map || http://wisa.bmlfuw.gv.at/wasserkarten/hochwasser/risikogebiete.html 
 Background documents || http://wisa.bmlfuw.gv.at/fachinformation/hochwasserrisiko/risikobewertung/hintergrunddokumente.html 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://wisa.bmlfuw.gv.at/wasserkarten/hochwasser/gefahrenkarten.html http://wisa.bmlfuw.gv.at/wasserkarten/hochwasser/risikokarte.html http://wisa.bmlfuw.gv.at/fachinformation/hochwasserrisiko/Gefahren--und-Risikokarten.html 
   
BE-Belgium

§    
Types of flooding

Belgium decided before
December 2010 to prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish
flood risk management plans. Belgium applied Floods Directive transitional
measures and was able to make use of existing flood risk assessments for the
mapping of risk of flooding from all relevant sources which included rivers,
coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall, dams and
reservoirs, and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Belgium did not have to
identify historical floods as per the Floods Directive as the decision to
prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish flood risk
management plans had already been taken.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

Belgium did not communicate
potential future floods or areas of potential significant flood risk as the
decision to prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish flood
risk management plans had already been taken.
No information was reported
on the possible impact of climate change and spatial planning policies such as
those on land use and infrastructure development
Belgium shares a total of
seven international river basins with France, the Netherlands, Germany,
Luxembourg, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The assessment of flood
risk in six of the international basins is formally coordinated between the
respective national authorities and there is an informal arrangement for the
seventh.

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Belgium
 
 Title || Source 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://geoapps.wallonie.be/inondations/#BBOX=-4432.83020066045,262796.8709254085,-1729.6873253746744,185860.2711878757 http://environnement.wallonie.be/inondations/ 
 Wallonia Geoportal || http://Geoportail.wallonie.be 
 Flemish Geoportal || http://www.waterinfo.be/default.aspx?path=NL/Loketten/geoloket 
 Policy Priorities 2012-2013 || Beleidsbrief Mobiliteit en Openbare Werken , Beleidsprioriteiten 2012-2013 (1778 (2012-2013) – Nr. 1)            
 Environmental assessment for the purpose of drafting the river basin management plans for the Scheldt and Meuse (notification document) || Milieubeoordeling ten behoeve van de opmaak van de stroomgebiedbeheerplannen voor Schelde en Maas (kennisgevingsdocument) 
 Water Policy Document || Tweede Waterbeleidsnota, incl. Waterbeheerkwesties (Voorontwerp in openbaar onderzoek van 19 december 2012 tot 18 juni 2013) 
 Flemish framework for flood risk management || Vlaams kader voor overstromingsrisicobeheerplannen Onderbouwing en bevindingen van meerlaagse veiligheid uit het ORBP-project (IMDC) 
   || Meerlaagse Waterveiligheid: resultaten van de ORBP-studie (VMM) 
 Legal references for Wallonia || http://wallex.wallonie.be/index.php?doc=16557&rev=17454-10324 
    
BG-Bulgaria

§    
Types of flooding

Bulgaria undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
snow melt, dams and reservoirs, and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers and surface water flooding from heavy rainfall are the most common in
Bulgaria, going back to the mid-19th century, with hundreds of
significant flood events being recorded since 2000. There are fewer records on
floods from sea water, groundwater and from reservoirs (e.g. dam failures).

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

The location and risk of
future floods were predicted using computer models using data from past flood
events. Future floods with a probability of occurrence of 1% or greater were
modelled.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Bulgaria, the impact
of climate change on this risk has not been studied enough to include in the
assessment at this time and further data gathering and modelling are needed.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have been considered in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria shares four
international river basins with Romania, Greece, Turkey, Serbia and the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The assessment of flood risk in these
international basins has been coordinated between the respective national
authorities.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Bulgaria:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal || Dams and reservoirs 
 Bulgaria || 105 || 12 || 11 || 12 

§    
Flood Hazard and Flood Risk maps

Bulgaria has not yet
published these maps.

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Bulgaria
 
 Title || Source 
 Preliminary Risk Assessment Methodology Part A (in Bulgarian language) || http://www3.moew.government.bg/files/file/Water/Povarhnostnivodi/PORN/Chast_A_28062011.pdf 
 Preliminary Risk Assessment Methodology Part B (in Bulgarian language) || http://www3.moew.government.bg/files/file/Water/Povarhnostnivodi/PORN/Chast_B_28062011.pdf 
 PFRA BG1000 (in Bulgarian language) || http://www.bd-dunav.org/content/upravlenie-na-vodite/upravlenie-na-riska-ot-navodneniia/predvaritelna-ocenka-na-riska-ot-navodneniia-v-dunavski-rayon-za-baseynovo-upravlenie/porn-v-dunavski-rayon/ 
 PFRA BG2000 (in Bulgarian language) || http://bsbd.org/v2/bg/index_bg_2934486.html 
 PFRA BG3000 (in Bulgarian language) || http://bd-ibr.org/details.php?p_id=243&id=276 
 PFRA BG4000 (in Bulgarian language) || http://www.wabd.bg/bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=987&Itemid=72 
CY-Cyprus

§    
Types of flooding

Cyprus undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
dams and reservoirs and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers and surface water flooding from heavy rainfall are the most significant
types of floods in Cyprus, going back to 1973 (surface water) and 1981
(rivers), with four significant flood events recorded from 2000 to 2001. There
are no records on historic floods from sea water, groundwater or from
reservoirs (e.g. dam failures). 

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Cyprus, the location and
risk of future floods were predicted using an eight-step methodology, which was
developed under public consultation. It identified river basins 10 km2
or larger and a number of criteria for land use, in conjunction with the
information from historical floods and took into account any flood protection
measures that had been implemented.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Cyprus the potential
for climate change to increase the number and consequences of extreme flood
events was based on research in both Cypriot and international literature.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in Cyprus.
Cyprus does not have any
international river basins.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Cyprus:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall 
 Cyprus || 19 || 6 

 Links to reports on assessment of
     flood risk and maps in Cyprus
 
 Title || Source 
 Implementation of the Law 70(I) of 2010 for Floods || http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/wdd/Wdd.nsf/guide2_en/guide2_en?OpenDocument 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/wdd/Wdd.nsf/all/410903B9E6BB3FF5C2257D2D003B0D46?opendocument 
CZ-Czech Republic

§    
Types of flooding

The Czech Republic undertook
a preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources
which included rivers, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall, dams and
reservoirs, and groundwater. 

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers go back to the 1970’s, with 12 significant flood events being recorded
from 2000 to 2010. There are fewer (1 from 1950 to 1999) records on floods from
reservoirs (e.g. dam failures) and none from surface water flooding. 

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

The location and risk of
future floods were largely predicted using geographic computer models with
information on the location of floodplains and residents that could be affected
by flooding. This was done by looking at the chance a flood could occur and its
impact on human health, environment, cultural heritage and economic activity.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. The vulnerability of
river catchments to climate change was assessed; models were used to estimate
the potential increase in flood risk from river flooding because of climate
change.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic shares
three international river basins with Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
The assessment of flood risk in these three international basins has been
coordinated between the respective national authorities.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for the Czech Republic:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers 
 Czech Republic || 269 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in the Czech Republic
 
 Title || Source 
 Czech PFRA report || http://www.povis.cz/html/ 
 Report on PFRA methodology in CZ || http://www.povis.cz/html/ 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment in the Danube River Basin, ICPDR || http://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/implementation-eu-floods-directive 
DE-Germany

§    
Types of flooding

Germany undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
dams and reservoirs, and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Germany, going back to 1717, with some 162
significant flood events being recorded between 2000 and 2011. There are fewer
records on floods from sea water, surface water flooding (e.g. snow melt) and
from reservoirs (e.g. dam failures). 

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Germany, the location and
risk of future floods were largely predicted using computer models, statistical
assessments and scenario building. The focus was on river, surface water and
coastal water flooding rather than on groundwater flooding which was considered
to be a contributory source to river flooding rather than as primary source
requiring a specific assessment. 
Climate change can potentially
significantly affect the risk of flooding. The vulnerability of river
catchments and coastal waters to climate change was assessed and computer
models were used to estimate the potential increase in flood risk from river
and coastal flooding because of climate changes.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered.
Germany shares eight
international river basins with other countries; including the Danube which is
shared with 18 other countries and the Rhine which is shared with eight other
countries. The assessment of flood risk in these international basins has been
coordinated between the respective national authorities, and it is the intention
that one joint flood risk management plan will be produced for each basin.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Germany:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall 
 Germany || 793 || 4 

 Links
     to reports on assessment of flood risk and maps in Germany
 
 Title || Source 
 Bund/Länder-Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wasser || http://www.lawa.de/documents/HWGK15062010_b72.pdf 
 Reporting to the European Commission in accordance with Directive 2007/60/EC || http://www.wasserblick.net/servlet/is/118755/?lang=de 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://hwrm.env.disy.net/cadenza/pages/map/default/index.xhtml;jsessionid=2447CC5FDCD7528E5B89F9F97E8D112D http://geoportal.bafg.de/mapapps/resources/apps/IKSE_DE/index.html?lang=en http://geoportal.bafg.de/mapapps/resources/apps/IKSE_DE/index.html?lang=de http://geoportal.bayern.de/bayernatlas/L7ExSNbPC4sb6TPJDblCAiLPd0Fv2v9OnIrPrA5rbixOP8hEaFIVXrbAcpsGQCaUdhZLLGbowYS60u-YtLhY0kUWLQgjSEXX5-Kuqtw9VW0A6R1VeXxdtqx57-R6J0Iy-WemlZmvb4egSghqukS-706Gw1qptfavVUOmICxAQ2_Md9iV4hfp0XUqH9xPa-3sC7YqmpF11TbyNK-mjxUEuKYV_57irBnFI_H7X7NgwTE/L7E59/Wemde/Iy-7c/J0Id2 http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/umwelt/wasser/hochwasser/de/hw-gefahrenkarten.shtml http://cms.mv-regierung.de/hochwassergefahrenkarten/ http://www.flussgebiete.nrw.de/index.php/HWRMRL/Gebietsansicht/TEZG_Maas_Nord 
DK-Denmark

§    
Types of flooding

Denmark undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from rivers and coastal waters.
Coastal flooding is of the most relevance to Denmark. Surface water flooding
from heavy rainfall and groundwater flooding are not considered further but
might also be expected to occur.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from sea
water are the most common in Denmark, going back to the year 1532, with some 20
significant flood events being recorded between 2000 and 2008.
Denmark has limited data on historic river flooding
as they did not cause large amounts of damage, with the exception of one area
(Holstebro).

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Denmark for coastal
floods, potentially significant future floods were identified based on a
methodology taking into account historic sea water floods and climate change
predictions. For river flooding, there was only one significant historic flood
so the method to identify potentially significant future floods was based on
catchment characteristics, such as size and potential for damage.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Denmark the
vulnerability of river catchments and coastal waters to climate change was
assessed. Coastal flooding considered the average rise of sea water level due
to climate change in the next 50 years (2060). Changes in the frequency and
strength of storms due to climate change were not considered.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Denmark.
Denmark shares one international river
basin with Germany. It is deemed there is no significant
flood risk in this basin. 
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Denmark:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal 
 Denmark || 4 || 9 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Denmark
 
 Title || Source 
 Forslag til udpegning af risikoområder på baggrund af en foreløbig vurdering af oversvømmelsesrisikoen fra vandløb, søer, havet og fjorde || http://www.masterpiece.dk/UploadetFiles/10852/36/Fællesrapport_Oversvømmelsesdirektiv_230311.pdf 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://miljoegis.mim.dk/cbkort?profile=miljoegis_oversvoemmelsesdirektiv 
EE-Estonia

§    
Types of flooding

Estonia undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
dams and reservoirs and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Estonia, with eight significant flood events
recorded from 2005 to 2011. Five floods occurred from coastal waters in 2005
and two floods originated from surface water flooding after heavy rainfall that
took place between 2000 and 2003. Records from before 2000 were not available.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Estonia, the location and
risk of future floods was largely based on those significant past floods that
were considered likely to occur again in the future. Maps were produced based
on readily available information and the focus was on areas where high numbers
of people could be affected. Floods from dam breaks were not included as it was
thought any future floods could be prevented by suitable protection measures.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Estonia there is
already evidence of an increase in the average temperature between January and
May and, to some extent, in June, with an associated effect on the retreat of
snow and ice. This may actually decrease the risk of river flooding. However,
there may be more surface water flooding from heavy rainfall as the frequency
of extreme storms increases. Predicted changes in sea level have also been
included.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development were not considered in Estonia.
Estonia shares one
international river basin with Latvia and one with Latvia and Russia. The
assessment of flood risk has been discussed with Latvia and the two countries
have agreed that there are no potential significant risk areas in the
sharedbasin. Co-operation between Estonia and Russia does not include flood
issues.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Estonia:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal 
 Estonia || 8 || 10 || 15 

§ 
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Estonia
 
 Title || Source 
 Estonian Ministry of the Environment web page || http://www.envir.ee/1158172 
 Press release || http://www.envir.ee/et/uudised/valminud-uleujutusohuga-seotud-riskide-esialgne-hinnang 
 All documents for the Preliminary Assessment || http://www.envir.ee/et/uleujutusohuga-seotud-riskide-esialgne-hinnang 
 Preliminary Assessment || http://www.envir.ee/sites/default/files/yleujutusohugaseotudriskidearuanne.pdf 
 Legal transposition of the Directive || https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/13335702 
 Üleujutusohuga seotud riskide esialgse hinnangu aruanne (flood risks associated with the initial assessment report), KESKONNAMINISTEERIUM 2011 || Available on the Estonian Ministry of the Environment web page: http://www.envir.ee/orb.aw/class=file/action=preview/id=1180240/%DCleujutusohuga+seotud+riskide+aruanne.pdf 
 Üleujutusohuga seotud riskide esialgne hinnang, Keskkonnaministri 17.jaanuar 2012. JUHISE NING TEGEVUSKAVA KOOSTAMINE ÜLEUJUTUSRISKIDE HALDAMISEKS (COMPILATION OF FLOOD RISK PLAN MANAGEMENT) || Available on the Estonian Ministry of the Environment web page: http://www.envir.ee/orb.aw/class=file/action=preview/id=1182293/Juhise+ning+tegevuskava+koostamine+%FCelujutusriskide+haldamiseks.pdf 
 Veeseaduse ja kemikaaliseaduse muutmise seadus. Vastu võetud 16.06.2010 Estonian Water Act transposing the requirements of the Floods Directive || Available at: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/13335702 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://xgis.maaamet.ee/xGIS/XGis?app_id=MA21&user_id=at&bbox=307661.290322581,6375000,797338.709677419,6635000&LANG=1 
EL-Greece

§    
Types of flooding

Greece undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall and dams and
reservoirs. No information on coastal water flooding was available at the time
of the assessment but more recent investigations have identified events and
coastal water floods are being considered. No historical groundwater floods
were identified and areas with potential groundwater floods were considered to
be already included in areas of potentially significant flood risk.

§    
History of flooding

All types of floods that
occurred in the past have been included. As a result 297 historic river floods
have been considered as significant, but no data exist for 191 of them. Three
of the river floods occurred in the 1800s.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

The criteria used to define significant
historical floods were human casualties; monetary compensation and the size of
the flooded area. The criteria used to define significant future floods require
more clarity, but it appears that the results from the identification of
significant historical floods, the identification of areas where flooding can
occur and areas with potentially significant adverse consequences of future
floods were combined to evaluate future flooding.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Greece, this was
effectively not considered as the data are not sufficient for an informed
prediction of the effect of climate change on the frequency of flooding.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Greece.
Greece shares six
international river basins with Albania, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey. The
assessment of flood risk in these international basins is coordinated between a
trilateral agreement between Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece, a written cooperation between Greece,
Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Kosovo and Montenegro and a separate coordination between Greece and Bulgaria.
Bilateral cooperation has also been established with Turkey.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Greece:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Other sources of flooding || No data on source of flooding 
 Greece || 103 || 14 || 1 || 9 

§    
Flood Hazard and Flood Risk maps

Greece has not yet published
these maps.

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Greece
 
 Title || Source 
 Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Floods homepage || http://www.ypeka.gr/Default.aspx?tabid=252&language=el-GR 
 Flood Risk Management Special Secretariat for Water || http://floods.opengov.gr/ 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment in Greece (PFRA-Report, December 2012) || http://www.ypeka.gr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=T4DDG1hqQMY%3d&tabid=252&language=el-GR 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.ypeka.gr/Default.aspx?tabid=252&language=el-GR http://floods.opengov.gr/ 
ES-Spain

§    
Types of flooding

Spain undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
dams and reservoirs and groundwater. Flooding from sewerage systems has also
been considered in the historical flood and future flood risk analysis.

§    
History of flooding

6441 historical flood events
have been identified and 95.7% of them have reported significant consequences.
Records of flooding from rivers are the most common in Spain, going back to
before 1800, with some 1282 (in 2011) flood events being recorded since 2000.
There are fewer records on floods from sea water, surface water flooding and
from reservoirs (e.g. dam failures). Three groundwater flood records exist, all
originating from 1995 to 2010.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Spain, the location and
risk of future floods were largely predicted using flood simulations or more
simplified modelling if no relevant studies were available. Future adverse
consequences and impacts were evaluated by assessing whether significant
land-use changes have happened in comparison to historical flood events; and if
the development of infrastructural measures has changed significantly the flood
risk in comparison.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Spain climate change
is not considered in the statistics of flood flows due to uncertainties in the
impact climate change will have in the future.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have been considered in Spain.
Spain shares six
international river basins with France and Portugal. The assessment of flood
risk in these international basins has been coordinated between the respective
national authorities through commissions and working groups.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Spain:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal || Groundwater || Other source 
 Spain || 850 || 30 || 386 || 1 || 2 

§ 
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Spain
 
 Title || Source 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/agua/temas/gestion-de-los-riesgos-de-inundacion/mapa-peligrosidad-riesgo-inundacion/ 
 National Mapping System Viewer || http://sig.magrama.es/snczi/ 
FI-Finland

§    
Types of flooding

Finland undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers and lakes, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy
rainfall and dams and reservoirs. Groundwater flooding is not considered as
relevant as it is very rare in Finland and has never caused significant damage
and is not expected to do in the future. In the Aland Islands only surface
water flooding from heavy rainfall is considered as flooding from lakes and
groundwater is rare and not likely to cause significant impact in the future.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Finland with five flood events being recorded
since 1975 (as at 2005). There are fewer records on floods from coastal water
and surface water flooding and no records for any type of flooding are included
in the assessment prior to 1975.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Finland the location and
risk of future floods were largely predicted using computer models. Initial
flood hazard mapping was also undertaken for the coastal area where sea water
levels equivalent to a once in every 200 years event were used. In terms of
potential river flooding an estimated likelihood of at least once in a hundred
years was considered and for floods from dam failures, the events considered
were those with a likelihood of once in a thousand years.  There are also dam
failure flood hazard maps.  The potential flooding from ice blockages at
bridges was considered when identifying areas at risk of flooding, but this
particular type of flood has not been mapped.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Finland the temperature is expected to rise by 3-7 ° C and
precipitation increase by 13-26 % by the end of the 21st century
with an increase in heavy rainfall events, particularly in summer. The impact
of climate change on river flooding has been estimated using models. No
significant flood risk has been identified in the Aland Islands.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in Finland.
Finland shares two
international river basins with Sweden and Norway. The assessment of flood risk
in these international basins has been coordinated between the respective
national authorities through commissions and transboundary agreements.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Finland:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal || Dams and reservoirs 
 Finland || 17 || 6 || 1 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Finland
 
 Title || Source 
 Tulvariskien alustava arviointi – Uusimaa (national Finnish web page on flooding) || Available at: http://www.ymparisto.fi/fi-FI/Vesi_ja_meri/Tulviin_varautuminen/Tulvariskien_hallinta/Tulvariskien_hallinnan_suunnittelu/Tulvariskien_alustava_arviointi_vesisto_ja_meritulvat/Tulvariskien_alustava_arviointi__Uusimaa(14390) 
 Paikkatietomenetelmä tulvariskien alustavaan arviointiin (GIS-Method for Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment) Mikko Sane (3.6.2010) || Downloaded from the Finnish Environment Network: http://www.ymparisto.fi 
 Merkittävän tulvariskialueen kriteerit ja rajaaminen  (22.12.2010) (Criteria for the definition of Significant flood risk areas) || Downloaded from the Finnish Environment Network: http://www.ymparisto.fi 
 Merkittävät tulvariskialueet sekä merkittävyyden perusteena olevat vahingolliset seuraukset (Significant flood risk areas) (20.12.2011) || Downloaded from the Finnish Environment Network: http://www.ymparisto.fi 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.ymparisto.fi/tulvakartat 
FR-France

§    
Types of flooding

France undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
dams and reservoirs and groundwater. 

§    
History of flooding

Historic flood events were
considered for all types of floods. River flooding was the most common although
surface water, sea water and other floods have occurred multiple times. Four
events have been registered for reservoir and dam flooding since 1959.  

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

For future flood events, all
types of floods have been considered except dam failures, groundwater floods
outside floodplains and surface water floods on slopes. For these floods, it is
not considered possible to have information available or readily deliverable. 
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In France the potential
impacts of climate change by 2100 have been incorporated, assuming 1 metre of
sea level rise
which corresponds to a worst-case, extreme scenario.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in France.
France shares six
international river basins with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland,
Italy and Spain. The assessment of flood risk in these international basins has
been coordinated between the respective national authorities through informal
arrangements, two-way environment management agreements and a commission.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for France:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal 
 France || 133 || 21 || 39 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in France
 
 Title || Source 
 Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy: Management of flood risks || http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/-La-gestion-des-risques-d,4726-.html http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Publication-du-bilan-des-actions.html 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/-La-gestion-des-risques-d,4726-.html 
HR-Croatia

§ 
Types of flooding

Croatia undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall and
dams and reservoirs. Groundwater flooding was not included in the preliminary
assessment as insufficient data were available.  

§ 
History of flooding

Historical flood records for
Croatia go back to the 1950’s, with two coastal water floods also reported
between 1900 and 1949. Surface water and river flood events are the most common
in Croatia, with 152 surface water floods and 52 river floods recorded since
2000, as at 2010. There are fewer records on floods from coastal water with 12
events since 2000, again at 2010, and no historical records of flooding from
reservoirs (e.g. dam failures), or groundwater. 

§ 
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Croatia, computer
modelling was used to classify settlements as having a high, moderate, low or
insignificant flood risk based on past events. The approach used for the
preliminary flood risk assessment included the collection and interpretation of
relevant information; estimation of the danger of flooding; analysis of an
area's susceptibility to flooding and estimation of flood risk. 
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding, but the impact of
climate change was not taken into consideration in Croatia. 
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Croatia.
Croatia shares one international
river basin (the Danube) with Slovenia and Hungary. The assessment of flood
risk in this international basin has been coordinated between the respective
national authorities. Flood risk management plans will also be coordinated
across these countries.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Croatia:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal || Dams and reservoirs || No data on source of flood 
 Croatia || 2876 || 296 || 192 || 75 

§    
Flood Hazard and Flood Risk maps

Croatia has not yet
published these maps.

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Croatia
 
 Title || Source 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment for the Sava River Basin || http://www.savacommission.org/dms/docs/dokumenti/documents_publications/publications/other_publications/pfra/preliminary_flood_risk_assessment_in_the_sava_river_basin_20140701.pdf 
 Flood hazard maps and flood risk maps || http://korp.voda.hr/ 
 Water Act (Zakon o vodama) (“O.G.”, No. 153/09, 63/11, 130/11, 56/13 and 14/14) || http://www.zakon.hr/z/124/Zakon-o-vodama (available only in Croatian), accessed on 25 June 2014 
 ICPDR's 2012 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment in the Danube River Basin || http://www.google.be/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icpdr.org%2Fmain%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FPFRA%2520REPORT%2520DRBD%2520v%2520March%25202012.pdf&ei=aU70U6XWMMaWO_uPgdgB&usg=AFQjCNGkNLNBcjuA3r8FdM1gwc-gm6kGgw, accessed on 25 June 2014 
 Plan for preparation of PFRA || http://www.voda.hr/001-492, accessed on 25 June 2014 
 Protocol on Flood Protection to the Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin || file:///C:/Users/DP/Downloads/PFRA%20REPORT%20DRBD%20v%20March%202012.pdf, accessed 1 July 2014 
 River basin Management Plan ("O.G.", No. 82/13) || http://www.voda.hr/puvp/ (available only in Croatia), accessed on 1 July 2014 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment || http://korp.voda.hr/pdf/Prethodna%20procjena%20rizika%20od%20poplava/PRETHODNA%20PROCJENA%20RIZIKA%20OD%20POPLAVA%20-%20TEKST.pdf 
   
HU-Hungary

§    
Types of flooding

Hungary undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Hungary has experienced a
large number of major floods in the last 50 years, including 92 floods from
rivers while floods from other sources are less common. Ten events from 1965 to
2011 were evaluated in greater detail during Hungary’s assessment of flood risk
as these were considered to be particularly significant flood events with
national importance.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Hungary, risks of
flooding from rivers and groundwater were considered significant for large
areas and surface water floods after heavy rainfall were considered significant
in populated areas. Past floods were included in the flood risk assessment if
they were considered to be significant according to their impact on people, the
environment and the economy.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. Hungary’s National
Climate Change Strategy has defined a number of scenarios that will be analysed
in the future.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have been considered to a limited extent in Hungary.
All of Hungary is in the
international Danube river basin, with borders shared with Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia,
Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine. The assessment of flood risk in this
international basin is coordinated by a commission involving respective
national authorities.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Hungary:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Dams and reservoirs 
 Hungary || 2 || 1 || 1 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Hungary
 
 Title || Source 
 Official national website of the implementation of the WFD and other water related EU directives || www.vizeink.hu 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment report || http://www.vizugy.hu/index.php?module=content&programelemid=1&id=826 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.vizugy.hu/index.php?module=content&programelemid=62 
IE-Ireland

§    
Types of flooding

Ireland undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers and natural lakes, coastal waters, surface water flooding from
heavy rainfall, dams and reservoirs, groundwater and other types of flooding
such as tsunamis.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Ireland, going back to before 1800, with some 41
(in 2011) significant flood events being recorded since 2000. There are fewer
records on floods from sea water and surface water flooding. A national flood
hazard mapping website, launched in 2006, displays the locations and extents of
flood events in the past and provides information such as photographs, reports
and newspaper articles, related to those past events.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Ireland, a simplified
predictive assessment of future floods was conducted rather than detailed
modelling, which will be undertaken in follow up studies, as there was a lack
of available information on past flood extents. In terms of identifying
potential future impacts of flooding, consequences were categorised using one
of five vulnerability categories: Critical; Extreme; High; Moderate and Low for
all flood maps available.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Ireland the
information to analyse the potential flood risk impacts of climate change was
not available at the time of flood mapping. A predictive analysis is under
development and will be reported in a 2018 review.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Ireland.
Ireland shares two
international river basins with the UK (Northern Ireland). The assessment of
flood risk in these two international basins has been coordinated between the
respective national authorities, and it is the intention that one joint flood
risk management plan will be produced for each basin.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Ireland:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Groundwater || Coastal || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall 
 Ireland || 280 || 1 || 93 || 1 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Ireland
 
 Title || Source 
 The National Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA): Overview Report, March 2012 || Available from the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Programme website: http://www.cfram.ie/pfra/ 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://maps.opw.ie/fhrm/viewer/ 
IT-Italy

§    
Types of flooding

The authorities in Italy
were able to make use of existing flood risk assessments and maps from the last
two decades for most types of floods (main rivers; particularly in periods of
exceptional snow melt, surface water and coastal waters). Groundwater flooding
is not believed to be a major concern but could possibly arise, for example, in
northern Italy. Flooding from reservoirs has not been included in Italy’s present
assessment but might also be expected. 

§    
History of flooding

Certain areas in Italy such
as the Northern Apennines and the Eastern Alps note major flood events in the
past and the more recent ones have been used to determine flood hazards and
risks. However, the criteria for what constitutes a ‘significant’ historic
flood under the Floods Directive are not identified as Italy applied
transitional measures.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Italy computer modelling
was used to determine flood risks in certain river basin districts but it is
likely that different methods and criteria have been used across Italy. Some
areas of Italy have carried out analysis of extreme rainfall events to assess
areas subject to flash flood risks.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Italy climate change
is mentioned in relation to the development of preliminary flood risk
assessments and identification of areas of potential significant flood risk.
Useful hydrogeological data for climate change scenarios are not currently
available to identify potential future adverse consequences of flooding and the
authorities have been advised to evaluate the issue and consider possible
further work in this field.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Italy.
Italy shares international
river basins with Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and France. No information is
reported by Italy on how the assessment of flood risk is coordinated with the
other national authorities, however commissions based on international
agreements for international river basins exist.
Italy did not identify areas
of potential significant flood risk under the Floods Directive as flood risk
areas had already been identified and mapped. 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Italy
 
 Title || Source 
 Documento conclusivo del tavolo tecnico stato-regioni, Indirizzi operativi per l'attuazione della Direttiva 2007/60/CE (Concluding document from the state-regions technical group: Operational Guide for the implementation of Directive 2007/60/EC), January 2013 || Ministero dell'ambiente, della tutela e del territorio (Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea): http://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/vari/documento_definitivo_indirizzi_operativi_direttiva_alluvioni_gen_13.pdf 
 Martina Bussettini, Giuseppina Monacelli,Fabio Trezzini (ISPRA and MATTM): Introduduzione alla Direttiva Alluvioni (Introduction to the Floods Directive), PowerPoint presentation, June 2011 || ISPRA (Institute for Environmental Protection and Research): http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files/doc-pericolosita-idraulica/bussettini.pdf 
 Decreto Legislativo n. 49 of 23.02.2010 (transposing Directive 2007/60/EC) || Available at: http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/deleghe/10049dl.htm 
 Decreto Legislativo n. 219 of 10.12.2010 || ISPRA: http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files/sostanze-pericolose/decreto-legislativo-219-2010.pdf 
 DPCM 29.09.1998: Atto di indirizzo e coordinamento per l'individuazione dei criteri relativi agli adempimenti di cui all'art. 1, commi 1 e 2, del decreto-legge 11 giugno 1998, n. 180 (Act of direction and coordination for the identification of criteria for the fulfillement of Art. 1 (1 and 2) of DL 180/1998) ||   
 Distretto Appennino Settentrionale, Mappe della pericolosità e del rischio di alluvioni: Relazione, June 2013 || Available at the ITC web site: http://www.appenninosettentrionale.it/rep/distretto/relazione_PGAlluvioni_Completa_18062013.pdf 
 Distretto di Bacino Alpi Orientali, Piano di Gestione del Rischio di Alluvioni 2015-2021: Valutazione Globale Provvisoria dei Problemi di Gestione delle Acque e Obiettivi di Piano (Flood Risk Management 2015-2021: Provisional overview evaluation of water management problems and plan objectives), October 2013 || Available on the ITA web site: http://www.alpiorientali.it/new/dati/partecipazione/VGP_OP_6.pdf 
 Autorità di Bacino Pilota del Fiume Serchio, Distretto del Fiume Serchio: Mappe della pericolosità e del rischio di Alluvioni – relazione, (Serchio River District: Flood Hazard and Risk Maps – report), June 2013 || Available on the ITD web site: http://www.autorita.bacinoserchio.it/files/pianodigestioneri/documenti/FHRM_relazione_Giugno_2013.pdf 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://webgis.alpiorientali.it:6080/arcgis/rest/services/Dir200760 http://www.alpiorientali.it/new/index.php/direttiva-2007-60/consultazione-mappe/servizio-mappe-fhrm http://www.alpiorientali.it/new/flexviewers/ITR051/    http://www.alpiorientali.it/new/flexviewers/ITN003/ 
LI-Lithuania

§    
Types of flooding

Lithuania undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources, which
included rivers, coastal waters, dams and reservoirs.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Lithuania, with records going back to 1829 and 42
river flood events recorded between 2000 and 2010. There are also records of
floods from coastal waters and reservoirs (e.g. dam failures) since the 1950s
but these are significantly fewer in number.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Lithuania, the location
and risk of future floods were largely identified as areas which had previously
experienced significant floods and by using computer modelling to identify
areas with physical characteristics that could result in adverse consequences
from floods. These consequences were based on the economic analysis of past floods.

Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Lithuania the
vulnerability of river catchments and coastal waters to climate change was
assessed by using computer climate models to consider 40 scenarios for
greenhouse gas emissions and estimate the impact of the occurrence of potential
significant future floods. Analysis of historical data showed a significantly
decreasing trend in river flow during spring, summer and autumn and
significantly increasing trends during winter. The frequency of heavy rainfall
is also predicted to increase – this is responsible for 15% of the historical
floods analysed. Finally, the average winter water level in the Baltic Sea may
increase up to 100 centimetres by 2100.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Lithuania.
All four river basins in
Lithuania are international and shared with Latvia; additionally, one is also
shared with Belarus and the largest is also shared with Belarus, Poland (a
relatively small part) and Russia. The assessment of flood risk in these four
international basins has been coordinated between the respective national
authorities.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Lithuania: 
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal 
 Lithuania || 127 || 2 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Lithuania
 
 Title || Source 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) Report || Downloaded from the Lithuanian Environmental Protection Agency web site:  http://vanduo.gamta.lt/cms/index?rubricId=eec72856-096d-4cb3-ad8b-2d519a755bc8 
LU-Luxembourg

§    
Types of flooding

Luxembourg undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, groundwater and surface water flooding from heavy rainfall.

§    
History of flooding

The only source of flooding
found in records from the last 30 years is floods from surface water after
heavy rainfall, which has occurred four times.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Luxembourg, the location
and risk of future floods was limited to surface water floods after heavy rainfall,
as the risk from rivers or groundwater floods is considered low. These future
floods were largely predicted in relation to their potential effect on people,
the environment and the economy as well as data on physical characteristics of
the areas in question. No flood risk areas were found in the smaller of
Luxembourg’s two river basins.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. Luxembourg has not yet
taken the effects of climate change into account when considering flood risk as
there was not enough available information, but it intends to include the
results of recent and on-going studies into the next revision of its flood
hazard and flood risk maps.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Luxembourg.
97.3% of Luxembourg is part
of the international Rhine river basin, which is shared with Belgium,
Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The rest of Luxembourg is
part of the international Meuse river basin which is shared with Belgium,
Germany, France and the Netherlands. The assessment of flood risk in these two
international basins has been coordinated between the respective national
authorities.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Luxembourg:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall 
 Luxembourg || 15 

§  Links
to reports on assessment of flood risk and maps in Luxembourg
 
 Title || Source 
 L’évaluation préliminaire des risques d’inondation 2011, Bassin Rhin (Preliminary flood risk evaluation 2011, Rhine River Basin - in French)   || http://www.lorraine.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/EPRI_Rhin_maquettage_final2_cle2fc92b.pdf   downloaded from www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr 
 L’évaluation préliminaire des risques d’inondation 2011, Bassin Meuse (Preliminary flood risk evaluation 2011, Meuse River Basin - in French) || http://www.lorraine.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/EPRI_Meuse_maquettage_final_cle262217.pdf   downloaded from www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr 
 Directive inondation : Rapport sur l'Evaluation préliminaire des risques d'inondation (EPRI) dans le district hydrographique international "Meuse", Minond/12-2def (Floods Directive: Report on the preliminary flood risk evaluation in the Meuse International River Basin District - in French) || http://www.cipm-icbm.be/files/files/DRI/rapp_art_4_5_fr.pdf     
 Cartes des zones inondables et cartes des risques d’inondation; mise en oeuvre de la directive Inondation au Luxembourg, Christine Hilbert-Bastian, Beckerich, 22 Nov 2010 (Maps of flood risk zones and flood risks; implementation of the Floods Directive in Luxembourg – presentation in French) || http://www.aquafil.net/upload/6/biblio_picture/file/Cartesrisques_2.pdf   
 Le projet Interreg TIMIS Flood (Interreg Project TIMIS – in French) || http://www.eau.public.lu/publications/brochures/hochwasser/hochwasser.pdf 
 LU official website – general information and Water level database || http://www.eau.public.lu/cours_eau/crues/index.html http://213.139.159.80/timis/gauge/lux/ www.inondations.lu http://eau.geoportail.lu/ 
 LU official website – general information and Water level database || http://www.eau.public.lu/cours_eau/crues/index.html http://213.139.159.80/timis/gauge/lux/ www.inondations.lu http://eau.geoportail.lu/ 
LV-Latvia

§    
Types of flooding

Latvia undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, and dams and reservoirs. The authorities in
Latvia were able to make use of existing flood risk assessments for significant
types of floods (rivers, coastal waters and reservoirs).

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
coastal waters are the most common in Latvia, with five significant flood
events being assessed compared with one historical river flood event.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Latvia, the location and
risk of future floods is largely predicted by assessing all the available
information about historical floods, such as their size, the extent of damage
to people, the environment and the economy and the number of people evacuated
in each flood zone.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Latvia the
vulnerability of river catchments and coastal waters to climate change was
assessed, but significant changes in flood events are not expected in the
foreseeable future. There may be more frequent storms in the Baltic Sea and
possibly a rise in sea level during storms. There are no significant changes
expected to rivers.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in Latvia.
Latvia shares four
international river basins with other countries. Two are shared only with
Lithuania; one with Lithuania, Belarus and Russia, and the other with Estonia.
The assessment of flood risk in these international basins has been coordinated
between the respective national authorities.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Latvia:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal 
 Latvia || 23 || 11 

§ 
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Latvia
 
 Title || Source 
 The national program “Flood risk assessment and management of 2008 to 2015” || http://polsis.mk.gov.lv/LoadAtt/file39976.doc (Relevant Governmental Order). 
 National research programme “Climate change impact on water environment in Latvia” (KALME) || http://kalme.daba.lv/en/ 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://212.70.174.131/FLORIS/sistema.html 
MT-Malta

§    
Types of flooding

Malta undertook a preliminary
assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which included
rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall, dams and
reservoirs, and groundwater. However, only seasonal flooding after heavy
rainfalls is of significance in Malta and only surface water and coastal
flooding were assessed, although assessment was only to a limited extent for
coastal flooding.

§    
History of flooding

There is no formal database
of flooding records to draw upon in Malta; instead past flooding events have
been collected through newspaper records. Historical flooding from the sea was not considered as
significant because of its shallow depth and short duration. Flooding from the
failure of reservoirs was not considered significant because of the low volume
of water involved.

 Areas
     at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Malta, no computer
modelling of current or future flood scenarios was carried out as this had
already been done as part of the compilation of other projects. Due to the non-relevance
of flood events other than through rain and (to a limited extent) coastal water
in Malta, other types of flooding were not assessed with regard to possible
future events.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Malta there is no
information on
climate change predictions, no mentioning of methods,
and no mentioning of any consequences of climate change for future flooding
events and their consequences.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have not been considered in Malta.
Malta does not share any
river basins with other countries.
Malta has reported no areas
of potential significant flood risk as of December 2014.

§    
Flood Hazard and Flood Risk maps

Malta has not published
these maps.

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Malta
 
 Title || Source 
 Maltese PFRA || downloaded from the homepage of the Malta Resources Authority: http://mra.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Preliminary-Flood-Risk-Assessment.pdf 
NL-Netherlands

§    
Types of flooding

The Netherlands were able to
make use of existing flood risk assessments for the risk of flooding from all
relevant sources which included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding
from heavy rainfall, dams and reservoirs, and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

The Netherlands did not
identify historical floods under the Floods Directive as the decision to
prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish flood risk
management plans had already been taken (application of transitional measures).

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

The Netherlands did not
identify potential future floods under the Floods Directive as the decision to
prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish flood risk
management plans had already been taken.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. However, the Netherlands
did not identify at this stage how climate change might impact future flood
risk.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development were also not identified by the Netherlands.
The Netherlands shares four
international river basins with Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Germany. The
assessment of flood risk in these international basins has been coordinated
between the respective national authorities through a number of agreements and
working groups.
The Netherlands did not
identify areas of potential significant flood risk under the Floods Directive
as it made use of existing flood risk assessments. 

 Links to reports
     on assessment of flood risk and maps in the Netherlands
 
 Title || Source 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment || http://www.helpdeskwater.nl/onderwerpen/wetgeving-beleid/eu-richtlijn/kalender-ror/ 
 Other references || http://www.helpdeskwater.nl 
   || http://deltaproof.stowa.nl  
   || Overstromingsrisico’s op de kaart – spoorboekje voor te maken kaarten in het kader van de nationale implementatie van de EU Richtlijn Overstromingsrisico’s (2010) (can be downloaded at http://www.helpdeskwater.nl/onderwerpen/wetgeving-beleid/eu-richtlijn/overstromingsgevaar) 
 Flood risk maps with flood depth for different return periods || http://nederland.risicokaart.nl. 
PL-Poland

§    
Types of flooding

Poland undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from rivers and coastal waters.
Surface water and groundwater floods along with flooding from dams and
reservoirs were considered, but their significance is only in relation to river
flooding. In addition, data availability tended to be poor for these flood
sources so they were not assessed individually but included within the river
flooding category.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Poland, going back to 1570, with some 2746
significant flood events being recorded since 2000, as of 2011. There are fewer
records on floods from sea water, a total of 51 from 1558 to 2010.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

Areas at risk of flooding
were assessed based on studies of flood protection, historical data, surveys
carried out by municipalities, analysis of the impact of man-made flood
defences on flood protection and analysis of climate change on the occurrence
of floods from the sea.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Poland the impact of
climate change on the occurrence of river floods was not considered at this
stage due to lack of data. The impact of climate change on the occurrence of
floods from coastal waters was included.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have only been included as a starting point for
analysis in Poland.
Poland shares eight
international river basins with Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia,
Czech Republic and Germany. The assessment of flood risk in these international
basins is coordinated through a mix of two-way negotiations, management
agreements and two commissions.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Poland:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal 
 Poland || 256 || 48 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Poland
 
 Title || Source 
 PFRA report || Available at: http://www.kzgw.gov.pl/pl/Wstepna-ocena-ryzyka-powodziowego.html 
   || http://legnica.naszemiasto.pl/artykul/galeria/1909652,legnica-podtopiona-strazacy-ratowali-kobiety-z-zalanego,id,t.html 
   || http://www.tvn24.pl/raporty/polska-pod-woda,290 
   ||  http://www.miastokolobrzeg.pl/gm-ustronie-morskie/6607-poranna-powod-w-ustroniu-morskim.html 
   || http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59138129 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || Available at: http://mapy.isok.gov.pl/imap/ 
 Maps of significant historical flood || Available at: http://www.kzgw.gov.pl/pl/Wstepna-ocena-ryzyka-powodziowego.html 
 Coast Protection Strategy || Referred to in PFRA report: Zawadzka E., 2000, Instytut Morski w Gdańsku- (PL title: Strategia ochrony brzegów morskich) 
PT-Portugal

§    
Types of flooding

Portugal applied
transitional measures and decided, before December 2010, to prepare flood
hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish flood risk management plans.
Therefore, Portugal decided that a preliminary assessment of flood risk under
the Floods Directive was not required. The types of flood to be taken into
account for mapping flood hazard and risk were not fixed at the time of
reporting.

§    
History of flooding

Portugal did not identify
historical floods as the decision to prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk
maps and to establish flood risk management plans had already been taken.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

Portugal did not identify
potential future floods and areas of potential significant flood risk as the
decision to prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and to establish
flood risk management plans had already been taken. Risk zones were identified
based on historic data, but no detailed methodology was reported. 
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. Portugal did not identify
how climate change might impact future flood risk.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development were also not
identified by Portugal.
Portugal shares a total of
four international river basins with Spain. No information was reported on
coordination of the assessment of flood risk in these basins.

§    
Flood Hazard and Flood Risk maps

Portugal has not yet
published these maps.

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Portugal
  
 Title || Source 
 Other relevant websites ||   
 Portuguese Environmental Agency website – section on water || http://www.apambiente.pt/index.php?ref=16&subref=7 
 National Water Resources Information system || http://snirh.pt/index.php?idMain=-2&palavra=cheias 
 Azores Regional Water Resources Information System || http://sig.sram.azores.gov.pt/SRAM/site/SRIA/ 
 Madeira Direction of Environment and Spatial Management || http://drota.gov-madeira.pt/berilio/berwpag0.desenvctt?pCtt=2129 
RO-Romania

§    
Types of flooding

Romania undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, coastal waters, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall,
dams and reservoirs and groundwater.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in Romania, going back to 1970, with 155 significant
river flood events being recorded since 2000, as at 2010. There are fewer
records on floods from coastal water, surface water flooding, groundwater and
from reservoirs (e.g. dam failures). Only larger floods (those with a
probability of occurrence of less than 10%) were included.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Romania, the location and
risk of future floods were largely predicted using information from past floods
and a set of criteria around the effects on people, the environment and the
economy.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Romania the
vulnerability of river catchments and coastal waters to climate change was not
assessed as the impact of climate change on the occurrence and size of floods
in Romania are not clear.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development were also not considered in Romania.
Almost all of Romania is
within the international Danube river basin, which is shared with Bulgaria,
Hungary, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. The assessment of flood risk in these
international basins is coordinated between the respective national authorities
by a commission.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Romania:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal || Groundwater || Dams and reservoirs 
 Romania || 375 || 220 || 3 || 12 || 87 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Romania
 
 Title || Source 
 “Romanian Waters” National Administration portal || www.rowater.ro 
 Preliminary Risk Assessment Country Report (PRFA) for the 11 subunits and the information available on the webpage of the national water management authority ( RO language) || http://www.rowater.ro/EPRI/EPRI.aspx 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://gis2.rowater.ro:8989/flood/ http://maps.danube-floodrisk.eu/ 
SE-Sweden

§    
Types of flooding

Sweden undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from rivers and lakes only as
the majority of historical floods are of this type. Other flood types are not
included in the preliminary assessment due to a lack of data or methods to
predict future floods.

§    
History of flooding

A significant historical
flood is identified in Sweden as a crisis situation affecting many people,
large parts of the community or basic values and functions. Based on those
criteria, 190 significant historical floods were identified.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

The criteria used to
identify potentially significant future floods are limited to fluvial floods
affecting urban areas. Computer models were used to assess the extent of areas
flooded for a 1 in 100 years flood and a 1in 10,000 years flood. The
consequences of flooding of these areas were not quantified, but the impacts on
the four focus areas (health, environment, economy and cultural heritage) were
qualitatively assessed.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Sweden climate change
has not been fully considered in determining future risk but is included in
flood hazard maps which show the areas affected by a 1 in 100 years flood.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and infrastructure
development have not been considered in Sweden.
Sweden shares eight
international river basins with Finland and Norway. The assessment of flood
risk in these international basins has been coordinated between the respective
national authorities through informal discussions and two-way cooperation
projects and agreements.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Sweden:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Groundwater 
 Sweden || 18 || 1 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk in
Sweden
 
 Title || Source 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment || https://www.msb.se/Upload/Nyheter_press/Pressmeddelanden/Slutrapport_PFRA_MSB.pdf 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || https://www.msb.se/sv/Forebyggande/Naturolyckor/Oversvamning/Oversvamningsdirektivet/Steg-2-Hot--och-riskkartor/ 
 Report on 18 areas of potential significant flood risk || https://www.msb.se/sv/Forebyggande/Naturolyckor/Oversvamning/Oversvamningsdirektivet/Steg-1-Omraden-med-betydande-oversvamningsrisk/18-identifierade-omraden/ 
 Historic flooding in Sweden 1901-2010 || https://www.msb.se/sv/Forebyggande/Naturolyckor/Oversvamning/Oversvamningsdirektivet/Steg-1-Omraden-med-betydande-oversvamningsrisk/Historiska-oversvamningar/   https://www.msb.se/RibData/Filer/pdf/26098.pdf 
SI-Slovenia

§    
Types of flooding

Slovenia undertook a preliminary
assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which included rivers,
groundwater and coastal waters (only the Adriatic area). The authority was able
to make use of existing flood risk assessments. Warning maps of floods (last
updated in 2006) were used for defining areas of potential significant flood
risk. All types of flooding were included. There is no distinction of the types
of flooding presented on flood risk maps.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from rivers are the
most common in Slovenia, going back to the 1550’s, with some 42 significant
flood events being recorded in the time period 2000 to 2010. There are fewer
records on floods from coastal waters (nine) and groundwater (one) in the same
2000 to 2010 period. Five recorded floods are snow melt floods and one is
recorded as debris flow.

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Slovenia, the areas at risk of future
flooding are modelled and calculated from the best available data which
includes; details of the landscape, groundwater and land cover of the land
around flood sources, water flow, level of the water and surface water data.
Future floods are presented in two
forms: firstly, the probability of extreme events occurring and secondly, the
classes of flood hazard present water depth, flow and the extent of floods.
Flood risk is predicted in terms of flood extent, pathways and depths in
relation to people, property, economic activity, cultural heritage, physical
environment and sensitive buildings such as hospitals and schools.
Climate change can potentially
significantly affect the risk of flooding. The impacts of climate change on the
occurrence of floods were not considered, because there is insufficient
evidence about the influence of climate change on floods in Slovenia. More
recent studies on the impact of climate change will be taken into account in
the 2018 review.  
The potential effects on flood risk of
spatial planning policies such as those on land use and infrastructure
development have not been considered in Slovenia, because protective measures
are being carried out with the help of a Decree on conditions and limitations
for constructions and activities on flood risk areas, which ensures that
potential damage human activity does not increase by re-directing new
developments outside of flooding areas. In the case of foreseen enlargements of
existing infrastructure in the areas already endangered by floods, mitigation
measures have to be implemented to reduce existent endangerment.
Slovenia shares two international river
basins with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. The assessment of flood risk
has been coordinated among the respective national authorities in the context
of already existing commissions, appointed on the basis of cooperation
agreements with neighbouring countries.
The following areas of potential
significant flood risk were identified for Slovenia:
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Coastal 
 Slovenia || 60 || 3 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Slovenia
 
 Title || Source 
 PFRA- Report ||   
 Durović, B.: Določitev in razvrstitev poplavno ogroženih območij v Sloveniji, povzetek metode dela in rezultatov, IzVRS, Ljubljana (Designation and classification flood risk areas in Slovenia, summary of methodology and results), July 2012 || http://www.mko.gov.si/fileadmin/mko.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/voda/metodologija_dolocanja_obmocij.pdf  
 Predhodna ocena poplavne ogroženosti Republike Slovenije (The preliminary flood threats to the Republic of Slovenia), December 2011 || http://www.mko.gov.si/fileadmin/mko.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/voda/predhodna_ocena_poplavne_ogrozenosti.pdf 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.mko.gov.si/fileadmin/mko.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/voda/opvp/OPOPO.xls   http://www.mko.gov.si/si/delovna_podrocja/voda/poplavna_direktiva/    
   
SK-Slovakia

§    
Types of flooding

Slovakia undertook a
preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from all relevant sources which
included rivers, surface water flooding from heavy rainfall, dams and
reservoirs, and groundwater. The authorities in Slovakia were able to make use
of existing flood risk assessments for most types of floods (main rivers and
large raised reservoirs).

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
surface water (heavy rainfall, dams and reservoirs) are the most common in
Slovakia, going back to 1997, with some 317 significant flood events being
recorded. There are fewer records on floods from groundwater and river
flooding. 

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Slovakia, the location
and risk of future floods were largely assessed using expert judgement and
computer modelling with information on historic floods being used to validate
the predictions. The focus of groundwater flooding was on the seepage of water
through flood protection dikes.  
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In the Slovak Republic
the vulnerability of river catchments and coastal waters to climate change was
assessed.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in Slovak Republic.
Slovakia shares two
international river basins with adjacent countries: the Danube River basin and
the Vistula River basin. The Vistula River Basin District is shared with
Poland, Czech Republic, Belarus and Ukraine. The assessment of flood risk in
these two international basins has been coordinated between the respective
national authorities, and it is the intention that one joint flood risk
management plan will be produced for each basin.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for Slovakia. Note that
Slovakia did not identify areas of potential significant flood risk for all
rivers in the country due to applying transitional measures: these areas are
not included in the table below.
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal 
 Slovakia || 360 || 383 || 9 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in Slovakia
 
 Title || Source 
 Slovak PFRA report || http://www.minzp.sk/sekcie/temy-oblasti/voda/ochrana-pred-povodnami/manazment-povodnovych-rizik/ 
 MoE SR Resolution 313/2010 Coll., which sets details on the preliminary flood risk assessment, its revision and updating || http://www.zbierka.sk/zz/predpisy/default.aspx?CiastkaID=26234 
 Slovak RBM Plan || http://www.vuvh.sk/rsv2/ 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://www.minzp.sk/sekcie/temy-oblasti/voda/ochrana-pred-povodnami/manazment-povodnovych-rizik/povodnove-mapy.html   http://mpomprsr.svp.sk/Default.aspx 
UK-United Kingdom

§    
Types of flooding

Scotland, Northern Ireland
and Gibraltar undertook a preliminary assessment of the risk of flooding from
all relevant sources which included rivers (not in Gibraltar), coastal waters,
surface water flooding from heavy rainfall, dams and reservoirs (Northern
Ireland) and groundwater. The authorities in England and Wales were able to
make use of existing flood risk assessments for most types of floods (main
rivers, coastal waters and large raised reservoirs) except for small rivers,
surface water and groundwater flooding for which a separate assessment was
required.

§    
History of flooding

Records of flooding from
rivers are the most common in the UK, going back to the 1900’s, with some 19
(in 2010) significant flood events being recorded since 2000. There are fewer
records on floods from sea water, surface water flooding and from reservoirs
(e.g. dam failures). 

§    
Areas at risk of flooding now and in the future

In Scotland, the location
and risk of future floods were largely predicted using geographic computer
models with information on historic floods being used to validate the
predictions. The focus was on river, surface water and coastal water flooding
rather than on groundwater flooding which was considered to be a contributory
source to other types of flood rather than as primary source requiring a
specific assessment. Floods with a medium probability of occurrence were used
for assessing future risk.
Computer models were also
used in England and Wales for predicting the risk of future surface water and
groundwater flooding, and also for small rivers and ditches for which there was
no existing assessments of flood risk. For surface water, future floods events that
were considered to be of a medium probability of occurring were modelled.
In Northern Ireland, a
computer model, which included details of the topography of the land around
flood sources, was used to predict future floods in terms of pathways and
depths in relation to people and property. Using this approach the effects of
future floods from rivers, surface water and coastal waters were predicted for
low, medium and high probability events. 
In Gibraltar, no modelling
of future flooding was undertaken and the assessment of future risk was based
on largely anecdotal evidence of historic floods. Only surface water and
coastal flooding were considered to be significant future sources of flood
risk.
Climate change can
potentially significantly affect the risk of flooding. In Scotland the
vulnerability of river catchments and coastal waters to climate change was
assessed; in Northern Ireland models were used to estimate the potential
increase in flood risk from river and coastal flooding because of climate changes;
the predicted effects of climate changes on flood risk has also been assessed
in national studies England and Wales; and in Gibraltar the effects of climate
change on sea levels was assessed particular in relation to existing and
planned future sea defences.
The potential effects on
flood risk of spatial planning policies such as those on land use and
infrastructure development have also been considered in England and Wales,
Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The UK (Northern Ireland)
shares two international river basins with the Republic of Ireland. The
assessment of flood risk in these two international basins has been coordinated
between the respective national authorities, and it is the intention that one
joint flood risk management plan will be produced for each basin.
The following areas of
potential significant flood risk were identified for the UK. Note that England
and Wales, by applying transitional measures, did not identify areas of
potential significant flood risk for rivers and coastal waters as flood risk
areas had already been identified and mapped: these areas are not included in
the Table below.
 Region || Number of areas 
 Rivers || Surface water flooding from heavy rainfall || Coastal 
 Scotland || 238 || 243 || 160 
 England and Wales || Not available || 18 || Not available 
 Northern Ireland || 20 || 20 || 6 
 Gibraltar || Not applicable || 0 || 0 

§    
Links to reports on assessment of flood risk and
maps in the UK
 
 Title || Source 
 The National Flood Risk Assessment, December 2011(of Scotland) || http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding.aspx 
 Environment Agency (England). Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA), Annexes to the final guidance Report – GEHO1210BTHF-E-E, 2 March 2011 || http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/geho1210bthf-e-e.pdf 
 Flooding in England: A National Assessment of Flood Risk (2009) || http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/library/publications/108660.aspx 
 Flood Risk Management Plans: Guidance for Risk Management Authorities in England and Wales || http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/LIT_8649_4e4b09.pdf 
 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment  and Methodology for the Identification of Significant Flood risk Areas December 2011, Rivers Agency of Northern Ireland || http://www.dardni.gov.uk/final-pfra-report.pdf 
 Government of Gibraltar, Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment, Final Report, January 2011 || https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/new/sites/default/files/docs/Preliminary%20Flood%20Risk%20Assessment%20Report.pdf 
 Flood Hazard and Risk Maps || http://watermaps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiyby.aspx?topic=floodmap#x=234034&y=276407&scale=3 http://map.sepa.org.uk/floodmap/map.htm https://mapping.dardni.gov.uk/FloodMapsNI/index.aspx 
[1]               Member State reporting still under assessment.
Information subject to change.