EU Commission Staff Working Paper - Risk Assessment and Mapping Guidelines for Disaster Management

In 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on a Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters setting out an overall disaster prevention framework and proposing measures to minimize the impacts of disasters. The Communication advocated the development of EU and national policies supporting the disaster management cycle: prevention - preparedness - response - recovery. This document (EU Guidelines) was developed in response, to assist countries to further develop national approaches and procedures to risk management, taking into account the future impact of climate change. The focus of these guidelines is on the processes and methods of national risk assessments and mapping in the prevention, preparedness and planning stages, as carried out within the broader framework of disaster risk management. The guidelines are based on a multi-hazard and multi-risk approach. These guidelines build on experience in the practical implementations of national risk assessments and mapping, in particular existing good practice risk assessments of major natural and man-made disasters available in Member States. The guidelines take full account of existing EU legislation and Eurocodes (e.g. Directives on flood risks, protection of European Critical Infrastructures, Water Framework Directive (drought management), Eurocode 8 on building design standards for seismic risks, and prevention of forest fires).