FACTS & FIGURES

Between 1980 and 2016, natural disasters

have cost the EU close to €410 billion.
European Disaster Risk Management helps
populations to better cope with
disasters.
Disaster risk management considerations
are increasingly incorporated into key
EU policy areas, including health,
environment, climate change adaptation,
development, cohesion, agriculture,
transport, energy, research and innovation.

© EU/ECHO/OERK

Last updated 2019

European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

European Disaster Risk Management

What is it?
The EU places disaster prevention and the reduction of risks at the centre of its disaster risk management to help Member
States to develop policies to better prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters. Prevention actions aim to reduce the
impact of disasters and make societies more resistant to future ones. Increasing the resilience of EU infrastructure,
ecosystems and societies is an essential element of effective disaster prevention. Disaster prevention is linked to
preparedness and response activities.

Why is this important?

Climate change, population growth and urbanisation will amplify the impacts of extreme weather with ensuing loss of life.
In addition to the tragic human cost extreme weather caused major damage. Between 1980 and 2016, EU Member States
have lost over €410 billion, not including losses related to cultural heritage or ecosystems. A better European Disaster Risk
Management helps populations to better cope with disasters. Therefore, disaster risks are often included in key EU policy
areas, including health, environment, climate change adaptation, development, cohesion, agriculture, transport, energy,
research and innovation. Disaster risk management activities, such as risk assessments of hazards, vulnerabilities and
exposure of populations feed into EU policy making.

European Civil
Protection and
Humanitarian Aid
Operations
How are we helping?
Mapping key risks in Europe
The European Commission has analysed key disaster risks in Europe based on national risk assessments and subsequently
published the updated EU Overview of Risks. Floods, storms, heat or cold waves, ice and snow and forest fires were most
prominent risks among natural disasters. Among man-made disasters, industrial accidents, loss of critical infrastructure,
transport accidents, terrorist and cyber-attacks topped the list.

Advisory Missions
The EU also shares its expertise with authorities and finances advisory missions to disaster zones. The mission can be
requested by any country in the world, the United Nations or its agencies. Their nature is distinct from response missions as
they are carried out in non-emergency contexts and in post-emergency situations in order to inform recovery and
reconstructions strategies. Its main deliverable consists of a written report including recommendations and advice. Advisory
missions carried out world-wide focused on issues such as industrial pollution, communicable diseases, environmental
risks including cross-border environmental issues, dam and industrial assessments, volcano eruptions, energy supply
explosions, earthquake preparedness, flood management, landslide rehabilitation, flood management, emergency risk
management, forest fires, and search and rescue issues.

Research and Knowledge sharing

A Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre provides EU Member States and the disaster risk management community
with an online repository of disaster related research results and access to a range of networks and partnerships. A
technical support system helps EU Member States carry out assessments of risks and risk management capability. Through
its Project Explorer, the Knowledge Centre also provides a repository of all EU-funded projects contributing to disaster risk
management.

Peer reviews
Under the EU disaster risk management peer review programme, experts from other countries examine the set-up and
operation of the reviewed country in an area related to risk management. The focus of the reviews can vary from the
general – disaster risk management – to the specific – e.g. risk assessments, risk management capability or early warning.
Participation is entirely voluntary for all parties. Peer reviews help participating states and neighbouring countries to
improve their disaster prevention and disaster risk management systems to establish better risk management policies and
practices. Initiated in 2012, this programme has finalised eight peer reviews across Europe, while six additional countries
are undergoing review, under the 2018-2019 programme.

Enhancing international cooperation

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) took on board many EU priorities for disaster risk
management including risk assessment, risk management capability assessment, peer reviews, a strong knowledge base
and the contribution of data and science. In 2016, the European Commission released an Action Plan for Sendai
Framework implementation. The Action Plan, covering a five-year period, promotes disaster risk reduction and its
integration in EU policies. Disaster risk and resilience are also prominent in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
and disaster risk reduction is closely linked to climate change adaptation in the Paris climate change agreement.

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