Flood Risk Management in Austria
Floods in recent years have shown that even flood protection measures cannot guarantee full safety against extreme events. Having this vulnerability in mind, many people show increased awareness of flood hazard and risk. One of the most important lessons learnt from the Danube flood in 2002 was, that flood protection is not enough - it needs a more holistic approach.
This integrated management approach has been since then developed in Austria and at EU level. Integrated flood risk management is nowadays implemented in accordance to the EU Floods Directive. For the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT), the main responsibilities and priorities are both flood prevention and protection. In close cooperation with spatial planning, building regulations and emergency management, land uses in areas prone to floods need to be adapted to reduce or even avoid future potential damages. In order to achieve this, hazard zone plans are elaborated and flood conveyance roots are identified and communicated in the frame of an integrated risk assessment.
As a step forward, flood risk management shall be increasingly supported and achieved by measures of spatial planning and building regulations. However, at the same time it is still of high importance that settlements and areas of high priority are protected by structural measures against floods. Integrated flood risk management also needs close coordination with ecology and, therefore, the goal achievement in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive.
- Herausgeber:
- Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism
- Ausgabejahr:
- 2018
- Ausgabeort:
- Wien
- Kategorie:
- Hochwasser(schutz)
- Seitenanzahl:
- 60