Flood Risk Exposure in Austria – Options for Bearing Risk Efficiently

Abstract

Due to its topography, Austria is exposed to many natural hazards. Inadequate spatial planning aggravates natural exposure to risks, 12% of all buildings are potentially exposed to flooding almost 9% are considered to be at an extreme risk. Reinforcing precautionary measures is a prerequisite for an efficient risk management system that will be ready to meet future challenges. In an efficient risk management system the Austrian government's relief payments after catastrophic events should be substituted by a broad (mostly obligatory) insurance against natural hazards. The strong involvement of government in the provisions of precautionary measures against natural disasters and its role during emergencies should be better coordinated with private measures.

Augmenting Austrian flood management practices through geospatial predictive analytics: a study in Carinthia

“…Offering an alternative measure of flood risk across the community provides the initial shift away from engineering centric flood management strategies called for in recent work (Gaume et al, 2009;Faber, 2006;Ganoulis, 2009). Url and Sinabell (2008) have also called for policy, insurance, and social consideration to drive a new integrated approach to flood management in Austria. The SRI also answers the call of Paulus et al (2004) and Szabó (2007), who have independently cited the need for an increased application of geospatial technology for hazards and disasters management in the region.…”

“…Exasperating the impact of this risk is the fact that over 70 % of the Austrian landscape is covered by mountainous terrain (Keiler et al, 2010;Staffler et al, 2008). This steep topography limits developable land and in turn has led to unsustainable development patterns and dense population distribution (EmbletonHamann, 1997;Url and Sinabell, 2008). When one considers this in conjunction with the fact that over 93 people per square kilometer live within the Austrian territory drained by the Danube, the grave nature of this risk is quite humbling (Schönerklee, 2008).…”

Index-Based Margin Insurance in Agriculture – On the Example of Wheat Production in Austria

“…The market of Austrian disaster risk management is characterized by the fact that private and public companies are active, but not well coordinated (Url and Sinabell, 2008). With respect to agriculture, the situation is different: a single company offers a wide range of insurance products to mitigate agricultural production risks.…”

Training decision-makers in flood response with system dynamics

“…To manage this challenge, European Union Member States are required to determine specific objectives for flood risk management focusing on prevention, protection and preparedness in order to respond to local and regional characteristics (European Parliament, 2007). For instance, in Austria, nearly 12 per cent of the property are exposed to flood risk (Url and Sinabell, 2008) and an increasing number of affected people during a predicted 100-year flood scenario at the Upper Danube region is expected (Feyen et al, 2006).…”