Humans adapt to floods through private measures, early warning systems, emergency preparedness and other solutions. A new attribution study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows that such adaptation other than structural flood defenses has reduced economic losses from flooding by 63% and fatalities by 52% since 1950.
Humans adapt to floods through private measures, early warning systems, emergency preparedness and other solutions. A new attribution study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows that such adaptation other than structural flood defenses has reduced economic losses from flooding by 63% and fatalities by 52% since 1950.
The study analyzes seven decades of historical flood impacts across Europe and demonstrates how adaptation measures have reduced damage over time.
Flood damage is the result of the interaction between hazards, such as heavy rainfall or storm surges, exposure, i.e., how many people and assets are located in vulnerable areas, and vulnerability, i.e., how badly these areas can be affected by flooding.
„Flood protection and other adaptation measures have largely offset the increasing flood risk from expansion into flood plains and climate change across the continent since 1950“, explains Dominik Paprotny, a PIK researcher and the lead author of the attribution study published in Science Advances.
