Climate Change and Natural Disasters (CHANGES)

Global warming is expected to alter natural disaster patterns in Europe, and CHANGES researchers are modeling those anticipated changes to assist emergency preparedness officials and to train young scientists in the risk management skills needed to respond to future disasters.

© Dirk Ercken | Dreamstime.com

© Dirk Ercken | Dreamstime.com

Overview 

CHANGES is designed to develop an advanced understanding of how climate change will affect the patterns of flooding, landslides, severe erosion, snow avalanches and wind storms in Europe. Such events may be more severe, more frequent, and in new locations because of climate change, and this shifting pattern is expected to trigger changes in socio-economic development in at-risk areas.

Adjustments to the new patterns, whether altering how a dam is constructed or changing the way local land is used, can cause new problems, such as increased flooding and more erosion. These “domino effect” problems are part of what CHANGES researchers are studying.
The overarching goal is to better understand how changing hydro-meteorological hazards and their associated risks can be assessed, modeled and then incorporated into risk management strategies.

IIASA Research

Institute researchers are assessing Europe’s current vulnerability to natural disasters and then, using models and historical damage catalogues, will analyze the expected changes in ecosystems and land use patterns in relation to global change and future socio-economic development. IASA is also involved in case studies analyzing the development of risk governance strategies in France, Italy, Poland and Romania.


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Last edited: 27 October 2015

Timeframe

01.01.2011 - 31.12.2014

RESEARCH PARTNERS

Further Information

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313