22 June 2015
IIASA, Laxenburg
On average, some 250 million people have been affected annually by floods over the last ten years; floods are the single most widespread and increasing disaster risk to urban settlements of all sizes. Zurich Insurance and IIASA, which are collaborating in the global Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, will present insights from their innovative forensic analysis of recent flood events (Central Europe 2013, Balkans 2014, Nepal 2014); their analysis identifies best practice and key gaps in responses. As “after the flood is before the next flood”, discussants at the press conference will address the question of whether we are ready for the next large flood.
The conference will take place on Monday, 22 June, 9.30am in the Gvishiani room at IIASA, Schloss Laxenburg.
Event overview
Please note that the press conference will be held in German.
The conference will provide insights on the following topics:
Addressing the conference:
Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance
Launched in 2013, the partnership takes an innovative approach that links academic insights, humanitarian sector capabilities and our own skills and knowledge to enhance community resilience to flooding.
The collaboration includes the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), with its 189 national societies; Practical Action, a UK-based international non governmental organization; and two research institutes – the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center.
The alliance focuses on floods because they affect more people globally than any other type of disaster, and cause some of the largest economic, social and humanitarian losses. All members of the alliance share a common vision of enhancing communities' well-being by making them more resilient to floods. They seek to demonstrate the benefits of pre-event risk reduction over post-event disaster relief, and improve public dialogue around flood resilience.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313