Preview of the Science for DRM 2020 : acting today, protecting tomorrow.
Date: 2020-10-15
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: citizen-authority relations, disaster resilience, environmental risk prevention, knowledge transfer, man-made disaster, natural disaster, risk management, social participation

Preview of the Science for DRM 2020:acting today, protecting tomorrow.This publication is a report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based 
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Address: Via E. Fermi, 21027 Ispra (Italy) 
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How to cite this report: Casajus Valles A., Marin Ferrer, M.,  (eds.). Preview of the Science for DRM 2020: acting today, protecting tomorrow., Publications Of-
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4

After two intense years of collaboration with more than 300 

experts in disaster risk management, we celebrate the Interna-
tional DRR day releasing a brief summary of the work done by 
the teams of authors for the Report Science for DRM 2020: 
acting today protecting tomorrow. The Report aims to broad-
en the knowledge of disaster risk in Europe, by collecting and 
merging the scientific results and experience of several actors.

The Report is divided in six chapters and six super case studies, 
drafted by 25 teams of authors, with the support of an Advisory 
Group. All the contributions have been revised internally and 
externally, by a group of independent reviewers. 

The Science for DRM 2020 focuses on analysing the conse-
quences of a disaster on various assets (population, economic 
sector, critical infrastructures, environment and cultural her-
itage) to take advantage of the data and lessons that can be 
extracted in the aftermath of an event to propose paths of action 
to reinforce prevention, mitigation and adaptation. 

Before its full publication, the current preview shares some of 
the ideas that will be contained in the full Report that will be 
public in December 2020.

 Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

1 Introduction

2 Integrating the risk management cycle

   3.1 Methodologies for impact assessment

3.2 Population

3.3 Economic Sectors

3.4 Critical Infrastructures

3.5 Environment and ecosystem services

3.6 Cultural heritages

4 Communicating risk among all

5 Transferability of knowledge 
   and innovation

Super Case studies

List of Participants

5

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 1 Introduction

The COVID-19 emergency that we are living through shows us what “systemic 

risk” means in practice, calling for stakeholders to collaborate, working across 
disciplines,  sectors  and  levels.  Science  plays  an  important  role  in  societal  de-
bates  and  supports  policy-making.  It  helps  increasing  the  awareness  on  the 
complexity of the problems at hand, facilitating the definition of the issues and 
formulating  alternatives. 

Since  we  cannot  avoid  some  hazards  to  materialise,  the  main  opportunity  for 
reducing  risk  lies  in  tackling  vulnerability  and  exposure.  To  do  so,  it  is  neces-
sary  to  identify  and  tackle  the  underlying  drivers  of  risk.  The  scientific  com-
munity  has  put  their  efforts  to  enlarge  the  understanding  and  modelling  risk; 
the number of national, regional and city risk 
assessments  and  sectorial  risk  assessments 
has  increased  recently,  proposing  evidence 
for planning measures to manage risk. A huge 
progress  has  been  made  in  developing  new 
technologies to capture signals and monitor-
ing threats. In general, the research commu-
nity has embarked in new projects to cooper-
ate with end-users and other societal actors 
in programmes such as Horizon 2020 and the 
new  Horizon  Europe. 

A good analysis of im-
pacts is an essential 
source of knowledge to 
exploit to reduce disaster 
risk, both in the after-
math of an event but also 
to better predict future 
events. 

In  2001,  a  Council  Decision  established  a 
framework  to  reinforce  prevention,  prepar-
edness  and  response  to  disaster  risk  with 
the creation of the European Civil Protection 
Mechanism  (EU  CPM).  Risk  anticipation  and 
management are as well fundamental to ma-
jor international agreements and frameworks 
in  place  since  2015:  the  Sendai  Framework, 
Agenda  2030,  the  Paris  Climate  Agreement 
and  the  2016  Urban  Agenda. 

In the current pandemic, the European Council agreed to an ambitious COVID-19 
recovery  plan,  also  known  as  ‘Next  Generation  EU’  that  will  contribute  to  the 
implementation  of  the  new  European  Green  Deal.  These  key  policies  mutually 
reinforce and are based on sound science and risk management principles. 

The  Report  Science  for  DRM  2020:  acting  today,  protecting  tomorrow  aims  at 
putting evidence at the service of society through a collaborative effort of more 
than  300  experts.  Disaster  risk  is  studied  through  the  analysis  of  the  conse-
quences of an event on various assets of interest, which will facilitate proposing 
action to tackle exposure and vulnerability factors and finally enhance resilience.

7

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2 Integrating the risk    
   management cycle

Disasters continue to undermine sustainable development so reducing its 

impacts  and  identifying  pathways  towards  resilient  societies  is  a  global 
goal.  As  proposed  by  the  Sendai  Framework  for  Disaster  Risk  Reduction 
and the EU CPM, among other initiatives, understanding and assessing the 
drivers and patterns of risk is necessary to identify, plan and implement any 
measure to reduce risk. 

Risk assessments serve to create a common understanding of the potential 
losses and damages. The information produced is used later to develop and 
put into operation the procedures, protocols and capabilities needed.

• Science is vital for efficiently 

implementing strategies for 

mitigating the most serious 

consequences.

Risk  concept,  which  definition  is  social  and  cultural  dependent,  has  an 
uncertain  and  dynamic  nature,  making  its  study  and 
management  challenging.  The  need  for  evidence  for 
informing  policies  and  its  implementation  has  gained 
importance  in  the  last  years.

Risk, which is a 
social and 
cultural concept, 
has an uncertain 
and dynamic nature, 
making its study 
and management 
challenging.

The integration of natural and social sciences expertise 
is  therefore  needed  to  tackle  risk.  In  Europe,  science 
is  one  of  the  players  but  effective  risk  management 
requires  other  stakeholders  to  participate  and  share 
responsibilities  in  the  decisions  made. 

This fact requires, the preparation of strategies of co-
ordination and integration, ensuring that capacities ex-
ist and that knowledge flows among actors and insti-
tutions, supported by training and learning. Monitoring 
and evaluation mechanisms have proven to be a source 
of improvement of policies and measures. 

Communication  is  key  to  engage  citizens,  the  most 
numerous and varied group, in all the activities men-
tioned.

A SHORT SAMPLE...

What can you find 
about those 
arguments
Inside Chapter 2 
of the next  
“Science for 
Disaster Risk 
Management “
2020 edition book?

• Disaster risk management 
and adaptation policies, 
strategies and plans should 
be based on a common 
understanding, 

• Effective risk management 
requires multi-stakeholder, 
multi-level processes that 
are built upon continuous 
cycles of assessment, 

9

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10

3.1 Methodologie for             
    impact assessment

The negative consequences of disasters on population, including human 

activities and properties, are measured in causalities, injuries or economic 
losses. Traditionally, this type of data has been used during relief, to ensure 
that lives were not lost and to avoid injuries, and in the recovery, facilitat-
ing the daily life of communities to come back to normality. Nonetheless, 
certain  impacts  related  to  disasters,  such  as  loss  of  cultural  heritage  or 
loss of biodiversity, are less obvious and not easy to measure in monetary 
terms.

Physical harm and destruction manifest immediately after the hazardous 
event, although some may become apparent in the long term, in time and 
space. Likewise, some effects happen as a consequence of the first impacts 
or as a result of the immediate actions taken. Indirect impacts can be a 
broad  category  encompassing  disruption  of  societal  life,  businesses  and 
services.

Collecting and 
sharing data after 
a disaster provide 
valuable informa-
tion to expand un-
derstanding of risk, 
reinforcing preven-
tion.

An  overall  assessment  of  the  impacts  allows  under-
standing the magnitude and extend of a disaster in a 
territorial  context.  The  study  should  address  multiple 
spatial and temporal scales and consider a whole range 
of sectors that may have been affected. As said, ana-
lysing the needs after an event helps the emergency re-
lief operations and the planning of recovery activities. 
It is necessary to know which have been the impacts to 
compensate the organizations and individuals affected 
and in a broader scope, governments and other stake-
holders can use the information to reinforce emergency 
and recovery funds and protocols. 

Finally, the data of damages and losses should be ex-
ploited  as  a  source  of  learning  to  discover  and  inter-
pret the drivers and conditions that facilitated these to 
happen. For example, investigations after earthquakes, 
volcanic eruptions and floods helped to develop fragility 
and damage curves, correlating construction character-
istics to potential degree of damages. 

These improves our capacity to anticipate future events 
and its consequences, which are vital for planning pre-
vention,  mitigation  and  preparedness  measures.  Despite  the  advantages 
stated, the collection and sharing of data is not a priority.

Damage is usually related to the physical harm and destruction due to 
a disaster but it can also be triggered by a chain of cascading effects in 
time and space, including the effects of the decisions taken to mitigate the 
effects and facilitate recovery.

It is necessary to identify “gainers” and “los-
ers” in different spatial scales in the long-term 
to assess the real effect of the impacts in the 
long-term.

Damage data collected after an event is initially required to respond to the 
most direct impacts and to deal with the recovery of it.

Data about damages and losses serve to study 
the drivers and conditions that lead to disasters, 
to design models to estimate risk in the future 
and to learn about the actions taken before the 
hazard materialized

To analyse the consequences of a disaster in 
the after-math of the event, it is necessary to 
have already in place a system to collect and 
share data of the event and its impact among 
different stakeholders, ensuring timely availabil-
ity and the consistency, accuracy and interoper-
ability among sources.

A SHORT SAMPLE...

What can you find 
about those 
arguments
Inside Chapter 3 
of the next  
“Science for 
Disaster Risk 
Management “
2020 edition book?

“ The understanding of disaster impacts has significantly advanced in 
recent years. For too long they were limited to a few sectors such as 
residential buildings or agriculture; more recently, research and practice 
have targeted damage to economic activities, lifelines and services, and 
cultural heritage in a much more comprehensive way. “

Source:  the  authors  of  subchapter 
3.1 in the Science for DRM 2020, de-
veloped as part of the Lode project, 
funded  by  the  Directorate-General 
for  European  Civil  Protection  and 
Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

11

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12

3.2 Population

Disasters affect and disrupt lives and livelihoods in different ways and 

with different intensities. Their consequences often affect people beyond 
those directly exposed, such as their families or social circles. Impacts can 
even  be  felt  among  communities  at  regional  or  country  level  when  the 
magnitude  and  time  of  materialization  of  a  hazard  is  extreme  or  when 
societies are not well prepared for such events. 

At individual level, the most immediate impacts of disasters are death and 
injury but these events can cause physical and psychological trauma that 
endures in time, often surfacing at a later stage. Hazard events threaten 
peoples’ housing and its surroundings, forcing people to leave their homes. 
Displacement  can  be  temporal,  through  semi-permanent  relocation,  or 
permanent, when people move to another neighbourhood or elsewhere, to 
another municipality, region or country. 

The socio-economic 
and environmental situ-
ation of a society before 
the disaster determines 
the potential conse-
quences of the event, and 
these can be exacerbated 
depending on the quality 
of response 
and recovery actions 
taken after the 
disaster.

Even without displacement, individuals, families and community members 
have to change how they relate and live when business-
es and services are limited or fully disrupted. The Global 
Targets A and B of the Sendai Framework for Disaster 
Risk  Reduction  directly  monitor  the  consequences  on 
population, collecting data that would show the trends 
of some impacts and the possible effects of the meas-
ures taken in the aftermath of the disaster.

Subchapter 3.2 is divided in three sections, covering the 
mentioned  direct  and  indirect  impacts.  Section  3.2.1, 
Threat to life, addresses relations between hazards and 
vulnerabilities of individuals that cause death, injury or 
health damage across Europe. Section 3.2.2, 

Threat to housing and habitat, focuses on the impact of 
people that has to relocate after a hazardous event, re-
lating socio-economic aspects to the post-disaster dis-
placement. Finally, section 3.2.3 makes an overview of 
the impacts in the society as a whole, presenting sever-
al consequences such as the loss of properties, services 
and businesses and other intangible impacts related to 
religion, jobs and family bounds.  

The impacts presented are closely related, many of which materialize in 
the three levels studied (individual, family and community level) in differ-
ent areas and after some time. These depend on the magnitude and nature 
of the event but also on the decisions made post-disaster. 

Common short- and 
long-term procedures 
to minimise post-event 
population disturbances 
should be planned.

Existing  vulnerabilities  at  in-
dividual and community level 
can unfortunately reinforce if 
not well considered. 

example, 

For 
relocation 
should  be  well  supported  by 
social  assistance,  as  losing 
the house and having to move 
somewhere else can have im-
portant  psychosocial  effects 
on people, which in turn would 
negatively affect the recovery 
of those individuals and their 
circles. 

The area impacted can lose workers and people that could actively 
engage in communal activities, necessary for a fast and inclusive re-
covery

A SHORT SAMPLE...

What can you find about 
those arguments
Inside Chapter 3.2
of the next  
“Science for 
Disaster Risk 
Management “
2020 edition book?

People displacements by year due to disasters

Source: the authors of section 3.2.2 of the Report 
Science for DRM 2020, using data from the IDMC 
(2017), Global Report on Internal Displacement, 
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Geneva, 
Switzerland.

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14

3.3 Economic Sectors

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction fixed a set of indicators 

to follow if the priorities and targets were reached. Global Target C serves 
to monitor the direct economic loss in relation to the GDP of the country 
and  is  calculated  considering  several  assets,  among  which  there  is  agri-
cultural  loss  (C-2),  other  productive  assets  (C-3)  and  the  housing  sector 
(C-4). Subchapter 3.3 reviews the methods and models used in analysing 
disaster damage and losses in three economic sectors (named, residential, 
agriculture and industry and energy), presenting the recent advances and 
the challenges when carrying out that task. 

Direct impacts usually encompass the most immediate damages and loss-
es on the assets due to the materialization of a hazard. Section 3.3.1 Res-
idential proposes as indicators the monetary value of physical damage to 
buildings but also the cost of cleaning, repairing or demolishing buildings, 
while section 3.3.2 Agriculture mentions yield losses and cattle mortality. In 
the case of manufacturing and energy industries, direct 
impacts can be represented by the physical damage to 
industries  or  its  impossibility  to  produce  the  products 
or services due to an interruption in their supply chains. 
Due to the globalised production linkages among indus-
tries, the negative effects of a disaster can potentially 
spread to other regions and countries rapidly. 

Improving our 
understanding of the 
economic impacts of 
various hazard risks is 
fundamental for sound 
and evidence-based 
disaster risk manage-
ment, to be implement-
ed by the owners and 
investors of the assets 
and businesses, together 
with other institutions 
and stakeholders.

analyses past disasters to display damages and losses, highlighting 
good practices and critical issues in the assessment of impacts and 
the management of risk.

The  quantification  of  impacts  is  generally  used  to  compensate  the 
owners of the asset(s), although authors express the need to adopt 
prevention, mitigation, preparedness and adaptation measures before 
the  disaster  manifests  to  ensure  a  reduction  of  impacts,  especially 
considering the intensification and increase of occurrence of climate 
extreme  events.

 In order to design these types of actions, scientists could take advan-
tage of the data and information that could be systematically collect-
ed to reinforce risk assessment methodologies. 

Likewise, the quantification of risks and impacts is vital to evaluate 
the  countermeasures  that  have  been  implemented.

The  successive  effects  on  the  market  and  on  society 
(such as a decrease of buildings in market values or de-
clines in income of the labour forces in the area) are dis-
played as indirect impact, following the UN terminology. 

As highlighted by the authors, special attention should 
be given when addressing these type of losses and dam-
ages to avoid double counting of impacts. The chapter 

A SHORT SAMPLE...

What can you find about 
those arguments
Inside Chapter 3.3
of the next  
“Science for 
Disaster Risk 
Management “
2020 edition book?
Distribution of losses among the different sec-
tors after the 2012 flood in Umbria 

Source: Menoni, S., Molinari, D., Ballio, F., Minucci, G., Atun, F., Berni, N., Pandolfo, C., 2016, ‘Flood damage: A model for consistent, com-
plete and multi-purpose scenarios’, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol. 16, pp. 2783–2797.

15

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16

3.4 Critical 
     Infrastructures

Critical  infrastructures  (CI)  provide  the  essential  services  that  underpin 

modern  societies  and  support  our  economies.  CIs  are  complex,  adaptive, 
sociotechnical and highly interdependent systems, although they are often 
designed in a fragmentary manner. Experience from recent disasters, to-
gether with the scientific literature, has provided evidence of the depend-
encies among critical infrastructures, highlighting pathways of cross-sec-
toral and cross-border failures. 

Subchapter 3.4 aims to broaden the understanding of current and future 
risks  related  to  critical  infrastructure,  thus  contributing  towards  a  more 
resilient and sustainable Europe. The subchapter is composed by four sec-
tions, which analyse in detail a set of assets and systems at risk and the 
potential impacts when those are disrupted for any reason. The subchapter 
focuses on the current vulnerabilities of the CIs, the challenges of the inter-
dependent systems and the options for building resilience into the design 

Our system of 

production, consumption 
and day-to-day activities 
heavily rely on
 technology, long-range 
supply lines and 
interconnected 
networks, turning our 
society vulnerable to the 
impact of potential 
disruptions.

of such systems.  

Section 3.4.1 provides an analysis of the essential con-
cepts and the challenges associated with organisational 
resilience  and  continuity  management  for  emergency 
facilities.  Assets  such  as  civil  protection  coordination 
centres, hospitals, and fire and police stations represent 
the first line of defence against disasters and crises. The 
section  first  explains  the  role  and  duties  of  emergen-
cy facilities to later define the procedures and practices 
that create operation resilience, describing how cascad-
ing effects can undermine both individual operators and 
the whole organizational resilience.
Section 3.4.2 discusses networked infrastructures, that 
is, those systems made up of interconnected assets dis-
tributed  over  a  large  geographical  area,  or  those  with 
numerous interacting components and functions. Energy 
grids, transport, gas and water supply are examples of 
networked infrastructures considered in the section. The 
centrality  of  these  networks  provides  some  degree  of 
resilience by design. Nonetheless, fragilities can appear 

in each technological layer and in the boundaries of the network, turn-
ing these type of infrastructures into channels for the propagation of 
disasters’ consequences, mediators of mitigation actions or both.
Section  3.4.3  addresses  risks  to  society  and  the  environment  from 
damage to core industrial and energy facilities due to man-made and 
natural hazards using case studies. The section studies how communi-
ties can be affected by such incidents, including cascading effects, and 
proposes how the impacts can be prevented or reduced in the future.
Finally, section 3.4.4 focuses on the role of communication systems 
and their varying degrees of responsibility for the transfer of infor-
mation, a critical requisite for emergency response and recovery. The 
section considers information and communication systems as critical 
infrastructures themselves. Recent advances in technology are noted 
in the context of the rapidly developing communication systems and 
services, including threats like cybercrime and cyberterrorism that are 
opening up new disaster scenarios with varied impacts.

Our  system  of  production,  consumption  and  day-to-day  activities 
heavily rely on technology, long-range supply lines and interconnect-
ed networks, turning our society vulnerable to the impact of potential 
disruptions.

A SHORT SAMPLE...

What can you find about those 
arguments
Inside Chapter 3.4
of the next  
“Science for 
Disaster Risk 
Management “
2020 edition book?

Police station in Carlisle before and after flooding 
(Source: Wikicommons, author: Philip Halling)

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3.5 Environment and 
ecosystem services

3.6 Cultural 
      heritages

Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans obtain from well-func-

tioning natural, semi-natural or agricultural ecosystems, such as the direct 
provision of food and water, the regulation of some extreme events and 
recreational benefits. Because most of these cannot be valued in economic 
terms, the concept of measuring direct losses is difficult to apply for eco-
system  services.  Few  attempts  have  been  made  to  assess  the  economic 
value of ecosystem services, mainly related to agriculture and forestry.

Ecosystem services have a dual role when talking about disaster impact. 
On  one  hand,  ecosystem  services  are  affected  by  hazardous  events.  De-
pending on the extent of exposure to a disaster and on the capacity of an 
ecosystem  to  cope  with  disturbances,  the  ability  of  a  system  to  deliver 
its services will reduce. On the other hand, ecosystems can also mitigate 
disasters. For example, wetlands, floodplains and riparian areas can store 
water and prevent downstream flooding in periods of extreme precipitation. 
Well-functioning ecosystems are resistant and resilient 
to disturbances, protecting societies against disasters.

The impact of 
disaster on ecosystem 
services is dependent on 
the state of 
ecosystem degradation. 
There is a complex and 
often geographically 
specific relation between 
vulnerability to disasters 
and ecosystem services 
degradation. 

Human  activities  affect  ecosystem  services  in  several 
ways that, as said, can lead to a loss of human well-be-
ing. Research has extensively documented the potential 
damages related to anthropogenic activities, related to, 
for example, land-use changes, cropping, deforestation, 
mining or pollution. These pressures can trigger direct 
or indirect effects when an extreme event happens. 

Moreover,  climate  warning  will  lead  to  unexpected 
changes in ecosystem functions, like nutrient cycling or 
water  purification,  which  will  increase  frequency  and/
or intensity disasters related to floods, heatwaves and 
wildfires  and  its  impacts.  Authors  propose  restoration 
actions  and  ecosystem-based  solutions  to  protect  the 
ecosystems  and  enhance  their  resilience. 

The  concept  of  cultural  heritage  has  evolved  over  time,  although  it  encom-

passes the assets that a society values as part of their heritage. These can be 
tangible, such as monuments, sculptures and paintings, or intangible, such as 
rituals and music. Subchapter 3.6 discusses several issues related to disaster 
impact assessment in the cultural heritage sector, reviewing existing methodol-
ogies and challenges.

When analysing the impact of disasters on these type of assets, authors high-
light the limitation of determining an economic value to cultural heritage assets 
(before an event) and quantifying the damage or loss in value (after a disaster) 
due to the high level of subjectivity around these analysis. Even when determin-
ing the impact economically considering the cost of repairing a physical asset, 
many intangible uses may be affected, which cannot be estimated economically.

Disasters generate many indirect impacts, such as 
the  interruption  of  activities  taking  place  at  the 
asset or around it. In some cases, impacts can be 
quantified economically in loss of income, for ex-
ample, while in others, like regarding recreational 
value or loss of social or spiritual value, this task 
is limited. The identification of indirect impacts is 
particularly  difficult.  In  the  long-term,  the  inter-
ruption  of  intangible  practices  and  the  transmis-
sion of traditional knowledge has effects on peo-
ple, the place and their story, which are difficult to 
recognize and value. Cultural heritage has varied 
non-economic impacts on several domains of so-
ciety,  namely  community  participation,  education 
and  social  identity  and  cohesion,  that  should  be 
well recognized when assessing impact and when 
managing  risk  affecting  cultural  heritage.

Lastly,  authors  of  subchapter  3.6  point  out  two 
important  elements  to  reinforce:  the  availability 
of baseline data available and the planning of ac-
tions  to  contain  losses  once  a  disaster  strikes.

It is necessary to widen 
the scope of
 current practices of 
disaster impact 
assessment to capture 
a larger spectrum of 
economic impacts and to 
better cover 
non-economic impacts 
on society.

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4 Communicating 
     risk among all

How to link and integrate the communities and territories to anticipate 

and face shocks while learning from those experiences is the main topic of 
risk management addressed in Chapter 4. If communication is effective, the 
different stakeholders are easily engaged in a constructive dialogue, where 
both data, information and knowledge is transferred and understood by all 
of them.

The Chapter considers territories and its communities as networks of di-
verse and interrelated actors, still nowadays organised in hierarchical and 
sectoral  silos.  With  this  in  mind,  subchapter  4.1  proposes  how  to  create 
the conditions to connect those communication networks. The subchapter 
establishes that participatory and inclusive negotiations are necessary to 
overcome the challenges of uncertainty about risk, as well as cultural and 
power differences. Trust emerges as a key factor for collaboration, particu-
larly when disasters move from one level of governance to another or cross 
borders. At the same time, learning between sectors is 
vital  to  create  new  knowledge,  necessary  to  fully  un-
derstand the dynamic nature of risk. Both collaboration 
and  learning  require  of  stable  governance  structures 
and long-term processes.

Long-term 
partnerships 
create trust that is 
key for risk 
communication 
among 
stakeholders.

Therefore,  bottom-up  approaches  should 
be  tailored  considering  citizens’  needs  and 
opportunities, making possible its participa-
tion in all phases of disaster risk manage-
ment  (DRM).  Subchapter  4.2,  besides  ana-
lysing  these  opportunities  and  challenges, 
describes  various  approaches  to  empower 
citizens  in  DRM. 

Technology  can  provide  a  valuable  envi-
ronment  for  the  social  networks  interact. 
Subchapter 4.3 addresses the requirements 
and  possibilities  of  communication  plat-
forms for an agile prevention and response 
of  risk,  which  link  the  public  and  authori-
ties.  The  subchapter  promotes  the  concept 
of  “risk  sensing”,  an  innovative  approach 
for early warning and decision-support sys-
tems. 

Innovative 
communication 
platforms that 
combine social and 
technical aspects 
should be exploited 
in order to build 
resilience.

The  benefits  of  engaging  citizens  in  decision-making 
processes  is  well  recognized  by  research:  policies  and 
projects  are  easily  implemented,  improving  its  effec-
tiveness,  because  its  acceptance  increases  while  pos-
sible  social  conflicts  are  avoided.  European  countries 
are  actually  shifting  towards  more  integrated  and 
bottom-up approaches in research, education and poli-
cy-making. Citizens are probably the most dynamic and 
diverse group when facing risk and its impacts and the 
perception of people about risk is determinant to have 
“active”  partners. 

A SHORT SAMPLE...

What can you find 
about those argu-
ments
Inside Chapter 4
of the next  
“Science for 
Disaster Risk 
Management “
2020 edition book?

“The central warning system infrastructure represents 
the core of such a complete communication system. As 
example, the suggested architecture should consist of 
three main components: 
• alerting authorities (AA), 
• central warning system infrastructure and 
• public warning subsystems”.

Figure 5. Suggested PWS architecture 
Rossi, C., Falcone, G., Frisiello, A., Dominici, F., 2018, Best practices on public warning systems for climate-induced natural 
hazards,  https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/Portals/0/innovation/SupportSystem/11_Lithuania/JRC_PublicWarningonNaturalHaz-
ard_05_PWS_final.pdf.

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5 Transferability of knowledge  
and innovation across the world

Super Case Studies

The  chapter  displays  a  varied  set  of  approaches  to  reduce  risk 

planned and/or implemented in the EU and abroad, promoting the 
advantages of identifying and transferring lessons learned at glob-
al level. International agreements call for inclusive approaches to 
make a better use of the knowledge on disaster risk, which is frag-
mented among different groups and actors. Sharing success stories 
or lessons learned among these to be reused by others to overcome 
their particular challenges would enable structures, processes and 
systems to improve in the decision-making arena.

A great amount 
of knowledge of 
DRM remains 
fragmented, 
calling for good 
practices to be 
shared and tested 
more regularly to be 
applied elsewhere.

Communities,  organisations  and  agencies  around  the  globe,  and 
in  particular  in  less  developed  countries,  may  have  capacities  in 
place (at individual, social and system levels) that are overlooked, 
which  should  be  identified,  protected  and  shared.  Chapter  5  pre-
sents,  among  others,  the  work  of  the  Indigenous  people  of  New 
Zealand  as  community-led  response  and  re-
covery,  the  support  given  to  small  businesses 
in the USA to enhance their resilience, the pro-
grammes  developed  at  the  Pacific  North  West 
Economic  Region  for  the  protection  of  critical 
infrastructure and the education initiative with 
scholars  in  Scotland  (UK).  The  initiatives  de-
scribed  show  how  different  groups  and  actors 
work to reduce disaster risk related to different 
DRM phases. Disaster risk reduction requires a 
system-of-systems approach, considering com-
munities and assets are interconnected and de-
pendent. In line with that, the chapter analyses 
more in detail two cases related to multi-haz-
ard  early  warning  systems,  from  its  develop-
ment to its operation. 

The  lessons  learned  and  best  practices  could 
enhance the capacity of the systems as a whole. 
These  could  be  customised  for  other  locations 
to be adopted, considering the context-specifi-
cities and needs in order to be effective and effi-
cient. Besides these, special attention should be 
given to the governance in place and the meth-
ods  and  tools  to  capture,  store,  retrieve  and  finally  transfer  the 
cases for these to be really applied by others.

SCS 1
   Eartquakes in Central Italy in 2016-2017

SCS 2
   Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011

SCS 3
   Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010

SCS 4
   Forest fires in Portugal in 2017

SCS 5
   COVID-19 emergency

SCS 6
   Education, cultural inclusion and disasters 

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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 

Chapter 1. Introduction

Advisors

Ylenia Cimmarrusti

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Tom de Groeve

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Jozias Blok 

European Commission, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and 
Development (Former)

Madalena Dali 

European Commission, Directorate-General for Climate Action

Team of authors

Ainara Casajus Valles

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Montserrat Marin Ferrer

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Ian Clark

European Commission, Joint Research Centre (Former)

Aikaterini Poustourli

International Hellenic University (IHU), Greece

Alessandra Sgobbi 

European Commission, Directorate-General for Climate Action

Christofer Ahlgren

European Commission, Directorate-General for Climate Action

Emma Phillips

Daniel Kull

Alanna Simpson 

External reviewers

Mirco Barbero

World Bank Group

World Bank Group

World Bank Group

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment

Cristina Brailescu

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment

Pawel Busiakiewicz

European Commission, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs

Chiara Dellapasqua

Laura Indriliunaite

Mariusz Legowski

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
ment 

European Commission, Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humani-
tarian Aid Operations

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
ment 

Ricard Ramon i Sumoy

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
ment 

Katrin Maria Rudolf

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
ment 

Jose Perez Navarrete

European Commission, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs

Gijs Schilthuis

Christian Vincentini

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
ment 

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
ment 

Alessandra Zampieri

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Chapter 2. Integrating the risk management cycle

Subchapter 2.1 Risk Assessment

Advisors

Clemens Neuhold

Eugenio Gil 

Alik Ismail-Zadeh

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos

Todor Tagarev

Lead Author

Michael Hagenlocher

Contributing Authors

Annegret Thieken 
 Stefan Schneiderbauer 

Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, Austria

Consejo de Seguridad Nacional, Spain (Former) / International Atomic Ener-
gy Agency (IAEA)

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany / the International Science 
Council, France

International Society for the Prevention & Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 
Greece

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

United Nations University, Germany

University of Potsdam, Germany

United Nations University, Germany/Eurac Research, Italy

Ignacio Aguirre Ayerbe 

IHCantabria, Spain

Pavel Dobes 

Amy Donovan 

Claudia Morsut

Nicholas Paris 

Lydia Pedoth 

Fahim Tonmoy 

External reviewers

Ajin R.S

Francesco Fusto

Leendert Gooijer

Technical University of Ostrava, Czechia

University of Cambridge, UK

University of Stavanger, Norway

Cyprus Civil Defence, Cyprus

Eurac Research, Italy 

Griffith University, Australia

Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, India

Regional Environmental Protection Agency of Calabria, Italy

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Nether-
lands

Helene Jacot des Combes

National Disaster Management Office, Marshall Islands

Danai Kazantzidou-Firtinidou

Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece

Carlos Mendes Lucio

Portuguese National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection 
(ANEPC), Portugal 

Petre-Cornel Min

National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), Romania

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Gregory Pearn

Roger Street

Dusan Zupka

NIRAS - IP Consult, Germany

University of Oxford, UK

École des mines d’Alès, France

Subchapter 2.2 Risk Management Planning

Advisors

Clemens Neuhold

Eugenio Gil 

Sorin Cursaru

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos

Todor Tagarev

Lead Author

Richard Sluizas

Contributing Authors

Peter Jackovics 

Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, Austria

Consejo de Seguridad Nacional (former), Spain / International Atomic Ener-
gy Agency (IAEA)

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

International Society for the Prevention & Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 
Greece

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

University of Twente, Netherlands

National Directorate General for Disaster Management, Hungary

Solveig Thorvaldsdottir 

Rainrace, Iceland

Karolina Kalinowska

Pavlos Tyrologou 

Christian Resch 

Sergio Castellari

Stefan Greiving

External reviewers

Dimitrios Alexandris

Funda Atun-Girgin

Francesco Fusto

Artemis Galani

European Commission, Directorate-General for European Civil Protection 
and Humanitarian Aid Operations

European Federation of Geologists, Greece

Resilience Solutions International, Austria

European Environment Agency

Technical University of Dortmund, Germany

General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greece

University of Twente, Netherlands

Regional Environmental Protection Agency of Calabria, Italy

General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greece

Helene Jacot des Combes

National Disaster Management Office, Marshall Islands

Carlos Mendes Lucio

Petre-Cornel Min

Gregory Pearn

Dan Serbanescu

Portuguese National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection 
(ANEPC), Portugal 

National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), Romania

NIRAS - IP Consult, Germany

Societatea Nuclearelectrica SA, Romania

Magda Stepanyan

Roger Street

Risk Society

University of Oxford, UK

Subchapter 2.3 Implementing risk management measures

Advisors

Clemens Neuhold

Eugenio Gil 

Sorin Cursaru

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors
Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos

Todor Tagarev
Lead Authors
Mikio Ishiwatari
Eduardo Gallego 
Contributing Authors
Maureen Wood
Lydia Cumiskey
Roger S. Pulwarty
Matthieu Meerpoel
Agostino Goretti
External reviewers
Dimitrios Alexandris
Artemis Galani
Helene Jacot des Combes
Peter Lauwe

Carlos Mendes Lucio

Petre-Cornel Min

Gregory Pearn
Roger Street
Kathleen van Heuverswyn

Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, Austria

Consejo de Seguridad Nacional (former), Spain / International Atomic Ener-
gy Agency (IAEA)

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

International Society for the Prevention & Mitigation of Natural Haz-
ards, Greece
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

University of Tokyo, Japan
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain

European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Middlesex University, UK
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA
Catholic University of Lille, France
Italian Civil Protection Department, Italy

General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greece
General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greece
National Disaster Management Office, Marshall Islands
Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), Ger-
many
Portuguese National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection 
(ANEPC), Portugal 
National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), Roma-
nia
NIRAS - IP Consult, Germany
University of Oxford, UK
KULeuven, Belgium

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Chapter 3. Assets at risk and potential impacts

Chapter 3. Assets at risk and potential impacts

Subchapter 3.1 Methodologies for Disaster Impact Assessment
Advisors

Xu Tang

Peter Hoeppe

Gerald Fleming

Team of authors

Lead Authors

Abhinav Walia 

Scira Menoni

Contributing Authors

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) / Fudan University, China

Munich Re, Germany (Former) /  Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Meteo Consultancy, Ireland

University of Newcastle, Australia

Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Marcelo Farah Dell’Aringa

Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy

Matus Bakon

Martin Rovnak

Kristian Milenov

Assen Dyulgerov

Radko Radkov

Leo Posthuma

Todor Shopov

Krasimir Markov

Cees van de Guchte

Monica Altamirano

Dennis Wagenaar

Judith Kaspersma

External reviewers

Ajin R.S

Graham Brewer

Marc Erlich

Allan Lavell

Carlos Mendes Lucio

Angela Potenciano Heras

insar.sk Ltd, Slovakia

insar.sk Ltd, Slovakia

Agency of Sustainable Development and Eurointegration – Ecoregions (ASDE), 
Bulgaria

Agency of Sustainable Development and Eurointegration – Ecoregions (ASDE), 
Bulgaria

Agency of Sustainable Development and Eurointegration – Ecoregions (ASDE), 
Bulgaria

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Netherlands

Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria

University of Telecommunications and Post, Bulgaria / Institute on Information 
Theories and Applications, Bulgaria

Deltares, The Netherlands

Deltares, The Netherlands

Deltares, The Netherlands

Deltares, The Netherlands

Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, India

University of Newcastle, Australia

freelance consultant

Latin American Social Science Faculty (FLACSO)

Portuguese National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection (ANEPC), 
Portugal 

National School of Civil Protection, Spain / Universidad Complutense de Ma-
drid, Spain

Roger Street

University of Oxford, UK

Subchapter 3.2 Population

3.2.1 Threat to life

Advisor

Daniele Ehrlich

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Author

Thomas Kemper

Lead Authors

Sergio Freire

Olga Petrucci

Contributing Authors

Paul T. J. Scheepers
Jeroen M. M. Neuvel
Joacim Rocklöv 

Christofer Åström
External reviewers

Yung-Fang Chen

Susan Cutter

Gábor Földvári

Barbara Juen

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezio-
ne Idrogeologica (CNR-IRPI), Italy

Radboudumc, Nijmegen/Public Health Service Tilburg, Netherlands

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Netherlands

Umeå University, Sweden

Umeå University, Sweden

Coventry University, UK

University of South Carolina, USA

Centre for Ecological Research, Hungary

University of Innsbruck / Austrian Red Cross, Austria

Danai Kazantzidou-Firtinidou

Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece

Kim Lintrup

Cian O’Brien

Kathrin Renner

Stoyan Stoyanov

Erich Striessnig

Valery Todorov

Frederiksborg Brand & Redning, Denmark

Health Service Executive, Ireland

Eurac Research, Italy

Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria

Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, 
Austria

Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria

3.2.2 Threat to housing and habitat

Advisor

Daniele Ehrlich

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Author

Thomas Kemper

Lead Authors

Marcello Schiavina 

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

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External reviewers

Ajin R.S

Daniela Baleva

Yung-Fang Chen

Susan Cutter

Marc Erlich

Vlatko Jovanovski

Angela Potenciano Heras

Magali Reghezza-Zitt

Kathrin Renner

Stoyan Stoyanov

Valery Todorov

Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, India

Rakovski National Defence College, Bulgaria

Coventry University, UK

University of South Carolina, USA

freelance consultant

Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for South Eastern 
Europe

National School of Civil Protection, Spain / Universidad Complutense 
de Madrid, Spain

Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, France

Eurac Research, Italy

Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria

Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria

30

Giulio Zuccaro

Contributing Authors

Eve Coles

Daniela De Gregorio

Lucy Easthope

Daniel F. Lorenz

Oriol Monserrat

Filomena Papa

Jair Torres

Marjan van Meerloo

External reviewers

Ajin R.S

Daniela Baleva

Yung-Fang Chen

Susan Cutter

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Leeds University, UK

University of Naples Federico II, Italy
University of Bath, UK

Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain

Civil Protection Department, Italy

UNESCO, France

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innova-
tion

Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, India

“G. S. Rakovski“ National Defence College, Bulgaria

Coventry University, UK

University of South Carolina, USA

Danai Kazantzidou-Firtinidou

Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece

Paul O’Hare

Angeliki Paidakaki

Angela Potenciano Heras

Magali Reghezza-Zitt

Kathrin Renner

Stoyan Stoyanov

Valery Todorov

3.2.3 Threat to society

Advisor

Daniele Ehrlich

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Author

Thomas Kemper

Lead Authors

Aslan Mehmet Çoşkun
Ivan Frigerio

Contributing Authors

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

KU Leuven, Belgium

National School of Civil Protection, Spain / Universidad Complutense 
de Madrid, Spain

Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, France

Eurac Research, Italy

Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria

Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, Turkey

University of Milano-Bicocca,Italy

Marcelo Farah Dell’Aringa

Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy

Nils Vandenbroucke

Veit Blauhut 

VIVES University College, Belgium

University of Freiburg, Germany

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Chapter 3. Assets at risk and potential impacts

Subchapter 3.3 Economic sectors

3.3.1 Residential

Advisor

Anna Santoro

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Author

Jaroslav Mysiak

Lead Authors

Daniela Molinari

Georgios Tsionis

Contributing Authors

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici - CMCC

Politecnico di Milano, Italy

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Adamantia Athanasopoulou

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Dionysios Bournas

Roxana Ciurean 

Daniela De Gregorio

Mattia Leone 

Tiziana Rossetto

Maria Luísa Sousa 

Giulio Zuccaro

External reviewers

Allan Beltran Hernandez

Chandra Bhakuni

Lee Bosher

Anna Rita Manca

Michio Naoi

Srinath Perera

Anders Rimne

Emilyn Witt

3.3.2 Agriculture

Advisor

Anna Santoro

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Author

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

British Geological Survey, United Kingdom

University of Naples Federico II, Italy
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
University College London, United Kingdom

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

University of Birmingham, UK

Freelance consultant, India

Loughborough University, UK

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Keio University, Japan

Western Sydney University, Australia

Boverket - National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, 
Sweden

Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Jaroslav Mysiak

Lead Author

Andrea Toreti 

Contributing Authors

Simona Bassu

Dioniso Perez Blanco

Fabian Capitanio

Rodrigo Rudge Ramos Ribeiro 

Daniela Molinari

Heidi Webber 

External reviewers

Nicolas Bauduceau

Helena Kahiluoto

Blaz Kurnik

Fabio Santeramo

Giulia Vico

Slavica Zec

3.3.3 Industry and energy

Advisor

Anna Santoro

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Author

Jaroslav Mysiak

Lead Author

Yasuhide Okuyama

Contributing Authors

Serkan Girgin 

Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), 
Italy

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Universidad de Salamanca, Spain / Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui 
Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy

University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil

Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Germany

CCR, France

LUT University, Finland

European Environment Agency (EEA)

University of Foggia, Italy

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici - CMCC

University of Kitakyushu, Japan

University of Twente, the Netherlands

María Isabel Martínez Torre-Enciso

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Zdenko Šimić 
External reviewers

Daniela Baleva

Serena Fatica

Fadi Hamdan

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

“G. S. Rakovski“ National Defence College, Bulgaria

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

DRM Centre, Lebanon

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Chapter 3. Assets at risk and potential impacts

Subchapter 3.4 Critical Infrastructures  

3.4.1 Emergency facilities

Advisors

Georgios Giannopoulos

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Wolfgang Raskob

Pierre Kockerols

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

John Agius

Georgios Karagiannis

Lead Author

Gianluca Pescaroli

Contributing Authors

David Alexander

Virginia Murray

External reviewers

Dimitrios Alexandris

Daniela Baleva

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Critical Infrastructure Protection Directorate (CIPD), Malta

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University College London, UK

University College London, UK

Public Health England, UK

General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greece

“G. S. Rakovski“ National Defence College, Bulgaria

Danai Kazantzidou-Firtinidou

Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece

Peter Lauwe

Kim Lintrup

Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), 
Germany

Frederiksborg Brand & Redning, Denmark

Joel Joris van de Klundert

Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

3.4.2 Network infrastructures 

Advisors

Georgios Giannopoulos

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Wolfgang Raskob

Pierre Kockerols

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

John Agius

Georgios Karagiannis

Lead Authors

Luca Galbusera

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Critical Infrastructure Protection Directorate – CIPD, Malta

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Marianthi Theocharidou

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Contributing Authors

Oriol Monserrat

Petr Novotny 

Giovanni Sansavini 

Bozidar Stojadinovic 

External reviewers

Stefano Bracco

Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain

Technical University of Ostrava, Czechia

ETH Zürich, Switzerland

ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), Slovenia

Danai Kazantzidou-Firtinidou

Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece

Peter Lauwe

Ricardo Messias

Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), 
Germany

EDP Distribuiçao, Portugal

Eleonora Papadimitriou

Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

David Rehak

Technical University of Ostrava, Czechia

Margarita Zango Pascual

Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, Spain

3.4.3 Core industrial and energy facilities

Advisors

Georgios Giannopoulos

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Wolfgang Raskob

Pierre Kockerols

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

John Agius

Georgios Karagiannis

Lead Author

Elisabeth Krausmann

Contributing Authors

Athanasios Fourtounas 

Serkan Girgin 

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Critical Infrastructure Protection Directorate – CIPD, Malta

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Joint Logistics Support Group NATO, Greece

University of Twente, the Netherlands

Miguel Angel Hernandez Ceballos 

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Daniel Jung 

Ernesto Salzano 

Zdenko Šimić 
External reviewers

Artemis Galani

Franziska Hirsch

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Bologna, Italy

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Greece

UNECE

Nima Khakzad Rostami

Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

Peter Lauwe

Sergiusz Ludwiczak

Olivier Salvi

Francisc Senzaconi

Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), 
Germany

UNECE

INERIS Developpement

General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, Romania

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3.4.4 Communication systems

Advisors

Georgios Giannopoulos

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Wolfgang Raskob

Pierre Kockerols

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

John Agius

Georgios Karagiannis

Lead Author

Kalpana Chaudhari

Contributing Authors

David Lund

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Critical Infrastructure Protection Directorate – CIPD, Malta

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Institute for Sustainable Development and Research, India / Shah 
and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College, India

Public Safety Communication Europe Forum, Belgium

Paruthummootil Jacob Philip

Institute for Sustainable Development and Research, India 

Pasquale De Toro    

Maria Cerreta

Jose Luis Marin

Milenko Halat

External reviewers

Yung-Fang Chen

David Hutchison

Peter Lauwe

University of Naples Federico II, Italy
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Applications in Advance Computing, Grupo AIA, Spain

Applications in Advance Computing, Grupo AIA, Spain

Coventry University, UK

Lancaster University, UK

Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), 
Germany

Alexander Preinerstorfer

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria

Dimiter Velev

University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria

Chapter 3. Assets at risk and potential impacts

Subchapter 3.5 Environment and ecosystem services
Advisors

Joachim Maes

Yuri Bruinen de Bruin 

Team of authors

Lead Authors

Alfred de Jager

Sara Peláez 

Contributing Authors

Johannes Amate Belle

Veit Blauhut 

Elisabeth Krausmann

Nina Nikolić

Karoliina Pilli Sihvola

Alessandra La Notte

Jordi Cortina

External reviewers

András Báldi

Mirco Barbero

Cristina Brailescu

Vena Pearl Bongolan

Zuzana Harmáčková

Ulrich Schwarz

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Limerick, Ireland

DiMTEC, South Africa

University of Freiburg, Germany

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Belgrade, Serbia

Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Alicante, Spain

Centre for Ecological Research, Hungary

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment

UP Diliman, Philippines

Czech Academy of Sciences, Czechia

Fluvius, Austria

Deepthi  Wickramasinghe

University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

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Chapter 3. Assets at risk and potential impacts

Chapter 4. Communicating risk among all

Subchapter 3.6 Cultural heritage
Advisor

Sergio Olivero

Team of authors

Lead Author

Xavier Romão 

Contributing Authors

Politecnico di Torino, Italy

University of Porto, Portugal

Esmeralda Paupério

University of Porto, Portugal

Oriol Monserrat

Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain

Theodoros Rousakis

Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

Pilar Montero Vilar

External reviewers

Isabelle Anatole-Gabriel

Giovanni Boccardi

Lejla Hadžić

Mario Hernandez

Elena Mamani

Ionut Cristi Nicu

Complutense University of Madrid

UNESCO

UNESCO

Cultural Heritage without Borders, Albania

International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE)

Cultural Heritage without Borders, Albania

Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Norway

Mohammad Ravankhah

University of Stuttgart

Subchapter 4.1 Linking actors, sectors and governance levels
Advisors

Daniela di Bucci

Sálvano Briceño

Kevin Blanchard

Wolfgang Raskob 

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

Kees Boersma

Cristina Martelli

Lead Authors

Civil Protection Department, Italy

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (Former) / Interna-
tional Science Council (ISC/ROLAC)

DRR Dynamics, UK

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherland

University of Florence, Italy

Yuri Bruinen de Bruin 

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Ana Lisa Vetere Arellano 

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Contributing Authors

Chloe Begg

Nicolas Dechy

Amy Donovan

Karolina Kalinowska

Boris Petrenj 

Christian Resch 

Tuuli Tulonen

External reviewers

Yung-Fang Chen

Marc Erlich

Paul O’Hare

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ), Germany

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), France

University of Cambridge, UK

European Commission, Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and 
Humanitarian Aid Operations

Politechnico di Milano, Italy

Resilience Solutions International, Austria

Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (TUKES), Finalnd

Coventry University, UK

freelance consultant

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Dan Serbanescu

Societatea Nuclearelectrica SA, Romania

Kathleen van Heuverswyn

KULeuven, Belgium

Jolanta Zubrickaite

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

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Subchapter 4.2 Citizen participation and public awareness
Advisors

Subchapter 4.3 Integrating tools for prevention and response communication systems
Advisors

Daniela di Bucci

Sálvano Briceño

Kevin Blanchard

Heikki Laurikainen

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

Kees Boersma

Cristina Martelli

Lead Author

Liesbeth Claassen 

Contributing Authors

Kalliopi Sapountzaki

Anna Scolobig

Tanja Perko

Slawomir Górski

Civil Protection Department, Italy

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (Former) / Interna-
tional Science Council (ISC/ROLAC)

DRR Dynamics, UK

The Finnish National Rescue Association, Finland

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherland

University of Florence, Italy

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands

Harokopion University of Athens, Greece

Environmental Governance and Territorial Development Institute at the Uni-
versity of Geneva, Switzerland

Belgian nuclear research centre SCK CEN and University of Antwerp, Belgium
Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Poland

Danuta Kazmierczak

Pedagogical University Krakow, Poland

Susan Anson

Fabio Carnelli

Remy Bossu

Trilateral Research, London, UK

University of L’Aquila, Italy

European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, France

Carlos Sousa Oliveira 

Instituto Superior Tecnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal

External reviewers

Funda Atun-Girgin

Daniel Auferbauer

Yung-Fang Chen

Ann Enander

University of Twente, Netherlands

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria

Coventry University, UK

Swedish Defence University, Sweden

Susanna Falsaperla

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy

Michael O’Grady

Jolanta Zubrickaite

University College Dublin, Ireland

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Daniela di Bucci

Sálvano Briceño

Kevin Blanchard

Christian Morgner

Team of authors

Coordinating Lead Authors

Kees Boersma

Cristina Martelli

Lead Author

Stefan Pickl

Contributing Authors

Gilles Grandjean

Piotr Kolmann

Miodrag Stručić

Civil Protection Department, Italy

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (Former) / Interna-
tional Science Council (ISC/ROLAC)

DRR Dynamics, UK

University of Leicester, UK

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherland

University of Florence, Italy

German Committee for Disaster Reduction (DKKV) / Universität der Bunde-
swehr München,  Germany

Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, Risk & Prevention (BRGM), 
France

The Main School of Fire Service, Poland

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Gemma Musacchio

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy

Claudio Rossi

External reviewers

Istituto Superiore Mario Boella, Italy

Monica Viorela Alexandru

Ministry of Research and Innovation, Romania

Yung-Fang Chen

Marc Erlich

Marco Manso

Coventry University, UK

freelance consultant

EDGENEERING, Portugal

Michael O’Grady

University College Dublin, Ireland

Alexander Preinerstorfer

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria

Dimiter Velev

University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria

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Chapter 5. Global Synergies of EU Expertise: Transferability of Knowledge and Innovation Across the World

SCS 1. Earthquakes in Central Italy in 2016-2017

Advisors

Tom de Groeve

Marc Gordon

Olvido Guzman

Team of authors

Lead Author

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency 

Bapon (SHM) Fakhruddin 

Tonkin + Taylor, New Zealand

Contributing Authors

Jair Torres

Boris Petrenj

Laura Tilley

External reviewers

Chandra Bhakuni

John Fien

Salla Himberg

UNESCO, France

Politecnico Di Milan, Italy

Tonkin + Taylor, New Zealand

Freelance consultant, India

RMIT University, Australia

Red Cross EU Office, Belgium

Helene Jacot des Combes

National Disaster Management Office, Marshall Islands

Thorsten Klose-Zuber

German Federal Foreign Office, Germany

Team of authors

Lead Authors

Daniela Di Bucci

 Mauro Dolce

Contributing Authors

Dionysios Bournas

Didier Combescure

Daniela De Gregorio

Luca Galbusera

Mattia Leone

Filomena Papa 

Xavier Romão

Civil Protection Department, Italy

Civil Protection Department, Italy

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

French Association of Earthquake Engineering, France

University of Naples Federico II, Italy
European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Civil Protection Department, Italy

Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Massimo Sargolini

University of Camerino, Italy

Marianthi Theocharidou 

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Giulio Zuccaro

External reviewers

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Danai Kazantzidou-Firtinidou

Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Greece

Gregory Pearn

David Sochor

Magda Stepanyan

Massimo Farrugia 

NIRAS - IP Consult, Germany

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland 

Chandra Bhakuni

Internal reviewers

Freelance consultant, India

Risk Society

European External Action Service (EEAS) 

Adamantia Athanasopoulou

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Remy Bossu

Oriol Monserrat

European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, France

Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain

Esmeralda Paupério

University of Porto, Portugal

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SCS 2. Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011

SCS 3. Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010

Team of authors

Lead Authors

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Gudrun Petursdottir 

University of Iceland, Iceland

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), France

University of Cambridge, UK

Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain

 Fukushima University, Japan

Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Uta Reichardt

Contributing Authors

Deanne Bird

Amy Donovan

Guðrún Gísladóttir

Arna Hauksdottir

University of Iceland, Iceland

University of Iceland, Iceland

University of Cambridge, UK

University of Iceland, Iceland

University of Iceland, Iceland

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands

Gudrun Johannesdottir

Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Iceland

Miguel Angel Hernandez Ceballos

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

TH Köln

Freysteinn Sigmundsson

University of Iceland, Iceland

Edda Bjork Thordardottir 

University of Iceland, Iceland

Gudmundur F. Ulfarsson 

University of Iceland, Iceland

External reviewers

Team of authors

Lead Author

Wolfgang Raskob 

Contributing Authors

Nicolas Dechy

Amy Donovan 

Eduardo Gallego 

Kenji Nanba

Xavier Romão

Cristina P. Tanzi

Marcus Wiens

External reviewers

Alexander Fekete

Petre-Cornel Min

Dan Serbanescu

Athanasios Sfestos

Dimiter Velev

Internal reviewers

Mikio Ishiwatari

Ernesto Salzano 

Zdenko Šimić 

National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), Romania

Monica Viorela Alexandru

Ministry of Research and Innovation, Romania

Societatea Nuclearelectrica SA, Romania

National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Greece

University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria

University of Tokyo, Japan

University of Bologna, Italy

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Riccardo Biondi

Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy

Athanasios Sfestos

National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Greece

Internal reviewers

Ernesto Salzano 

University of Bologna, Italy

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SCS 4. Forest fires in Portugal in 2017

Team of authors

Lead Author

SCS 5. COVID-19 emergency

Team of authors

Lead Author

Jesús San Miguel Ayanz

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Montserrat Marin Ferrer

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Contributing Authors

Duarte Oom 

Tomas Artès

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Domingos X. Viegas

Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

Paulo Fernandes

Nicolas Faivre

Sergio Freire

Peter Moore 

Francisco Rego 

Marc Castellnou

External reviewers

Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 
(DG RTD)

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy

University of Lisbon, Portugal

Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Spain/ Pau Costa Foundation, Spain

Cristina Montiel Molina

Universidad Complutense, Spain

Jean Louis Rossi

Internal reviewers

Alfred de Jager

Sara Peláez 

Esmeralda Paupério

Xavier Romão 

Université de Corse Pascal Paoli, France / The European Science and Tech-
nology Group (E-STAG) 

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

University of Limerick, Ireland

University of Porto, Portugal

University of Porto, Portugal

Rodrigo Rudge Ramos Ribeiro 

Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil

Contributing Authors

 Jas Mantero

 Béatrice d’Hombres
Elisabetta Vignati

Enrico Pisoni

Teresa Lettieri

Independent consultant

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Francesca Campolongo

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Julia Le Blanc

Marco Ratto

Vanda Almeida

Salvador Barrios

Michael Christl

Silvia De Poli

Alberto Tumino

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Wouter van der Wielen

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Luca Onorante

Valentina Montalto

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

José M. Rueda Cantuche

European Commission, Joint Research Centre

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SCS 6. Education, cultural inclusion and disasters

Team of authors

Lead Author

Christian Morgner

University of Leicester, UK

Contributing Authors

Danuta Kaźmierczak 

Pedagogical University Krakow, Poland

Kalliopi Sapountzaki

Harokopion University of Athens, Greece

External reviewers

Erich Striessnig

Dimiter Velev

Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, Austria

University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria

Margarita Zango Pascual

Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, Spain

Franci Zlatar

Slovene Philanthropy, Slovenia

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU

In person

All over the European Union there are hundreds of Europe Direct information centres. You can find the address of the centre nearest you 
at: https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en

On the phone or by email

Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this service:

- by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain operators may charge for these calls),

- at the following standard number: +32 22999696, or

- by electronic mail via: https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en

FINDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE EU

Online

Information about the European Union in all the official languages of the EU is available on the Europa website at: https://europa.eu/euro-
pean-union/index_en

EU publications

You can download or order free and priced EU publications from EU Bookshop at: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publications. Multiple 
copies of free publications may be obtained by contacting Europe Direct or your local information centre (see https://europa.eu/europe-
an-union/contact_en).

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doi:10.2760/003011

ISBN 978-92-76-23133-2