Overview of natural and man-made disaster risks the European Union may face

This Commission staff working document is the second edition of an overview of the natural and man-made disaster risks that the EU may face, prepared under EU legislation on civil protection. The aim of the overview is to capture the trends in the ever-evolving disaster risk landscape, discuss the major drivers shaping it, take a closer look at 12 selected disaster risks of particular relevance for Europe and to assess the implications of developments in disaster risks for risk management. In addition to information from national authorities, the overview draws on the latest available evidence from the Commission’s cross-sectoral policy, operational and scientific work on disaster risk.

The purpose of the overview is to foster a sound understanding of disaster risks facing Europe’s population and to inform decisions on risk management to prevent loss of life and damages. Although Europe is a relatively safe place to live, recent years have shown that Europe is also affected by a wide range of adverse events that cause devastation of human life, property, environment and cultural heritage. The biggest disaster to hit Europe in decades, the COVID-19 pandemic, was still unfolding at the time of writing, having killed more than a million people across the world, overwhelming national healthcare systems, disrupting public life and generating a major shock to economies.

In terms of policy implications, the overview of disaster risks in the EU indicates the following priority areas of action:

1. Addressing the major causes of risk to prevent, for the long-term, loss of life and damage to infrastructure, economy, environment and cultural heritage;
2. Increasing cooperation across borders and sectors, in all phases of risk management, to better address the transboundary nature of disaster risk, the increasing complexity and emergence of new threats;
3. Investing in prevention, preparedness and resilience to disasters, based on a strategic and risk-informed approach;
4. Further boosting the EU’s collective capacity to respond to high-impact disasters with transboundary effects;
5. Stepping up action to build resilience of critical infrastructure to intensifying natural hazards and man-made threats;
6. Building financial (fiscal) resilience to disasters in view of the rising economic cost of catastrophic events;
7. Improving the evidence base for effective risk management and building resilience.