Flood Risk Management in Europe

In recent years major floods have occurred across Europe causing serious damages and huge financial implications. Flood risk and vulnerability is increasing with increased frequency of occurrence of extreme events due to climate change, changes in land-use, encroachment into floodplains and increasing economic value of assets and businesses. Human lives, property, environment and socio-economics are at increasing risk due to flooding. Recent alarming events in Central Europe, UK and The Netherlands have provided renewed impetus to the development of improved policies and techniques for flood risk management across Europe. Sharing of knowledge and understanding of the practical problems, dilemmas and challenges will aid in the development and implementation of new technologies and strategies of the challenging issues of flood risk management in Europe.This valuable edition brings together 26 peer reviewed articles on technical, socio-economic, environmental and policy aspects of flood risk management. These articles contribute to the five sections with the general themes: i) flood risk management practice, ii) flood events and impacts, iii) flood analysis and modelling iv) flood forecasting and v) flood risk management policy. Some emerging technologies are presented and several future challenges are identified. Thus the book Flood Risk Management in Europe: Innovation in Policy and Practice with a multi-disciplinary combination of articles will form an excellent reference for the engineers, scientists, planners, policy-makers, researchers, insurance industry and all the practitioners involved in flood risk management, and its sub-disciplines in engineering, hydrology, environmental studies, coastal management, economics and public policy.

Section I: Flood Risk Management PracticeDecision-making for flood-threatened propertiesI. KelmanThe influence of floodplain compartmentalization on flood risk within the Rhine-Meuse deltaD. Alkema and H. MiddelkoopOSIRIS ¿ an example of citizen-oriented technology development in the area of dissemination of information on flood risk managementM. ErlichEvolving concepts in flood risk management: searching for a common languageK. de Bruijn, C. Green, C. Johnson and L. McFaddenCOMRISK ¿ a transnational project of public authorities on coastal risk managementJ.L.A. HofstedeDike investigations using geophysical methods ¿ Techniques for the future?R. Morawetz, J. Schön, C. Wohlfart and M. RöckSection II: Flood Events and ImpactsThe environmental impact of flooding of the Dutch `Delta-Metropole¿L.C.P.M. Stuyt, J.E.A. Reinders, E.E. van der Hoek, E.G.M. Hermans, M. de Muinck Keizer and J. IckeStructural economic effects of large-scale inundation: A simulation of the Krimpen Dike breakageM. Bockarjova, A.E. Steenge, A. Van der VeenA method to estimate loss of life caused by large-scale floods in the NetherlandsN.E.M. Asselman and S.N. JonkmanAutomation of flood contingency plans: benefits and implementation experiencesJ.-J.Flikweert, C. Coremans, K. de Gooijer, L. WentholtSection III: Flood Analysis and ModellingThe IMPACT European research project on flood propagation in urban areas: experimental and numerical modelling of the influence of buildings on the flowS. Soares Frazao, F. Alcrudo, J. Mulet, B. Noël, G. Testa and Y.ZechSustainable development and flood risk ¿Reducing uncertainty (Bristol city re-development case study)M. PinnellFlood risk mapping at the local scale: Concepts and challengesB. Merz, A.H. Thieken and M. GochtFlood modelling and the August 2002 flood in the Czech RepublicP. Sklenár, E. Zeman, J. Špatka and P. TachecíSeasonal rainfall and flow trends within three catchments in South-West EnglandD. HanPropagation of discharge uncertainty in a flood damage model for the Meuse RiverY. Xu, M.J. Booij and A.E. MynettA stochastic model for simulating long time series of river-mouth discharge and sediment loadR. Hoogendoorn and G.J. WeltjeSection IV: Flood ForecastingForecasting flash floods with an operational model: application in the south-east of France (Gard)P.A. Ayral, S. Sauvagnargues-Lesage, S. Gay and F. BressandFlood forecasting for the Upper and Middle Odra river basinM. Butts, A. Dubicki, K. Stronska, G. Jørgensen, A. Nalberczynski, A. Lewandowski and T. van KalkenFlood forecasting in the Anglian Region: User-driven development towards forecasting flood riskD.E. Cadman, D.A. Price and M.B. ButtsFlood forecasting model selection: A structured approachK.A. Tilford, K.J. Sene and R. KhatibiNumerical modelling in coastal flood forecasting and warning in England and WalesK. Hu, and C. WotherspoonSection V: Flood Risk Management PolicyReflections on the challenges of EU policy-making with view to flood risk management: actors, processes and the acquis communautaireA.L. Vetere Arellano, A. de Roo and J.-P. NordvikOn