Europe - Natural hazards and risks from climate change
Natural hazards
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 50 | Ill. 1
Overview
Natural hazards are threats by natural phenomena, like tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, etc., which may cause damage and often cannot be predicted. When an area or location is vulnerable to an identified natural hazard, then it is exposed to a natural risk. For many natural risks, the expected financial losses can be roughly estimated.
Natural hazards in Europe
Large parts of Europe are threatened by natural hazards. The map shows the Earthquakes, storms, and thunderstorms, as well as by climate change (increase in heat waves and droughts as well as sea-level rise). Due to climate change, there will be more frequent and more intense natural disasters in the form of storms, heat waves, droughts, and floods. droughts and floods.
Storms and thunderstorms
If you look at all the natural disasters in Europe, most of the deaths are caused by storms. People are hit by falling branches or flying debris. Large parts of Germany and parts of the Czech Republic are particularly at risk. Thunderstorms can also be dangerous. However, on average only five people die as a result of thunderstorms in Germany each year.
Heat waves and droughts are particularly dangerous for those regions in southern Europe that are already very warm and dry in summer.
If this trend intensifies as a result of climate change, major problems will arise. But also in more northerly regions, for example in Germany, for example, heat waves and droughts will increase. Heat is by far the most frequent cause of death from natural disasters. The heat wave in 2003 caused almost 10,000 premature deaths in Germany, and 70,000 across Europe.
Earthquakes
In Europe, 170 million people, almost a quarter of the total population, live in earthquake-prone regions, especially in southern Europe. In Italy, Romania, Turkey and Turkey and Greece, for example, more than 80 percent of the population is affected. This is due to the tectonic position of Europe. In the area of the African, Eurasian, and smaller Anatolian plates meet. This leads to subduction and, as a consequence, to recurring earthquakes, some of them strong.
Sea-level rise
Sea levels are not rising at the same rate everywhere. In Europe, the coasts facing the Atlantic and some coasts in the Mediterranean are particularly affected. The dangers associated with sea-level rise depend on the location and use of the coastal regions. In the Netherlands, for example, much of the land is below sea level. The land can only be protected by huge construction measures (dikes, dams, storm surge barriers ...), which are still being expanded.
