About: floods Archives

A dramatic increase in the number of natural disasters last year has sparked calls for more funding, cooperation and cost-efficiency from European Commission services.

Norway and Finland are the countries that will be least affected by climate change, while Bangladesh and India are most at risk, according to an index released yesterday (20 October).

The holiday season should still bring about some serious policy thinking, writes University of Oxford Chancellor Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs.

Recent spates of extreme weather should be attributed to climate change, according to Stefan Rahmstorf, Professor of Physics of the Oceans at Potsdam University and Department Head for Climate Impact Research at the Potsdam Institute.

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid and crisis response, will soon present a political proposal to reinforce the EU's capacity to respond to crises, the European Commission said yesterday (16 August). The announcement appears to represent a response to recent calls from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, inspired by the unprecedented floods in Pakistan.

Warnings about the effects of climate change often amount to mere scaremongering, writes author Bjørn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre and adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School.

A Belgian convoy departed on Sunday (4 July) to bring pumps, power generators, water purification units and other material to Romania, which requested EU help after the north-eastern part of the country was hit by severe floods, causing 25 deaths.

Parliament and Council reached an agreement on Wednesday 25 April on the proposal for a directive on the assessment and management of flood risks, as adaptation to the consequences of climate change becomes the subject of increased EU focus.

Environment ministers from the 16 countries sharing the Danube river basin and Black Sea region have adopted a declaration to increase environmental co-operation in the area.

Overconsumption, pollution and a general lack of political will to manage finite water resources demonstrate a failing EU water policy, according to a very critical report by WWF.

Floods: economic and budgetary implications The floods, which devastated the Czech Republic last August, had an impact on all sectors of the economy. The estimated damage could reach Kc100bn, i.e. 4% of the GDP, according to government's estimates. The consequences of the …

The WWF called on the EU and national governments to improve land-use to reduce the risks of future flooding.

High floods - lasting economic impact?The devastating floods caused significant damage (estimated at EUR 10 billion) in eastern Germany and a delay of tax cuts. However, the macroeconomic impact on German GDP growth, inflation and budget deficits is likely to …

The European Commission has proposed to set up a 500-1,000 million euro disaster relief fund to deal with natural, technological or environmental disasters in the EU.

At a summit in Berlin on 18 August, the EU has pledged to release financial aid from its structural funds to help Central European countries affected by devastating floods that killed 100 people.