The Role of Historical Storm Events in Risk Analysis

A study of the coastal flood events in 1872 and 1904 along the South and East Coast of Scania, Sweden, Vatten.

Publication: Article
Citation: Fredriksson; C., Feldmann Eellend, B., Larson; M., Martinez, G., The role of historical storm events in risk analysis. A study of the coastal flood events in 1872 and 1904 along the South and East Coast of Scania, Sweden, Vatten, Journal of Water Management and Research, pp 73:93 – 108, Lund 2017

This study presents information about the storms in 1872 and 1904 that occurred along the coast of Scania that is analysed with respect to the evolution of risk awareness, vulnerability, and societies' resilience over time. The article, to which Dr. Grit Martinez from Ecologic Institute contributed, is available for download.

On 13 November 1872 an extreme flood occurred in the coastal areas surrounding the South Baltic Sea. An extreme storm surge in combination with high waves caused the death of about 300 people and more than 15,000 people lost their homes. Along the coast of Scania, southern Sweden, at least 23 people were killed and more than 100 houses were destroyed. Hundreds of fishermen lost their source of income when boats and fishing equipment were damaged by the waves and pulled off-shore. During the night before New Year's Eve in 1904 the Scania coast was again hit by a severe storm. This storm in 1904 was not as extreme as the storm in 1872. The damage was less extensive but of a different character, because railroads had been built along parts of the coast.

After the storms, the coastal communities in Scania recovered quickly through governmental subsidies, voluntary work, and charity. If the 1872 storm would repeat itself today, the damage to buildings and infrastructure would be far worse and in some areas, human lives and health would be at risk. Meanwhile, the coastal communities of today are much richer, home insurances are more common, and fewer people depend on income from fishery. Studies of historical storm events that occurred before the start of systematic wave and water level measurements are important complements to risk analyses based on statistical extreme value models whose reliability is limited by the length of the data series. Increased risk awareness leads in itself to risk mitigation. Through understanding and remembering historical storm events and their consequences, individuals and the society can make informed decisions about the level of risk they are willing to accept to live near the coast.

The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating?!

7 - 9 June 2023
Dr. Grit Martinez

Publication:Article

This paper deals with how culture is expressed through the interplay of socially, politically, and economically driven processes and practices in place-based biophysical contexts as well as the role played by narrative expressions in the formation of coastal risk management, knowledge and action. It draws upon ethnographic, comparative, and historical approaches to understand how culture frames what we know and how we respond differently to risks.

Coastal Risk Cultures

Local and Regional Formation of Knowledge and Action

Year 2021

Publication:Book

There is a growing impetus among policy makers and practitioners to support and empower capacities of communities under changing climatic conditions. Despite this there is little systematic understanding of why approaches work at local levels or not and what makes some communities resilient and others less so. Authors addressing this shortcoming by providing illustrative case studies and assessment tools from Europe’s North, East and South helping to bridge the gap between climate change policies, decision-making and the cultural traits of communities in Europe.

Culture and Climate Resilience: Perspectives from Europe

Year 2021

Publication:Report

Introduction to the RISC-KIT Web Based Management Guide for DRR in European Coastal Zones

Year 2017

Publication:Article

The article illustrates both the potential and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration amongst researchers from the social sciences/humanities and the natural sciences/engineering in formulating disaster risk reduction measures for coastal regions. The authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Grit Martinez, share their experiences of working across different scientific and engineering disciplines in the EU project RISC-KIT to co-produce disaster risk reduction measures suitable for specific regional and local contexts, in this case two coastal study areas in Europe (Porto Garibaldi, Italy and Rio Formosa, Portugal). The article is available for download.

Experiences and Results from Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Utilizing Qualitative Information to Formulate Disaster Risk Reduction Measures for Coastal Regions

Year 2018

Publication:Report

This Synthesis Report provides an overview of the achievements, lessons learned and challenges identified through the RISC-KIT project activities, including the development and application of the tools at ten case study sites in a range of coastal regions across Europe. The lessons learned are then fed into a series of recommendations for improved DRR for Europe and beyond. The resulting insights and accompanying recommendations have been considered in relation to their relevance to EU and international processes that both directly and indirectly address coastal DRR. The RISC-KIT Synthesis Report is available for download.

RISC-KIT Synthesis Report

Year 2017

Publication:Policy Brief

Europe's coastlines are a product of human cultivation. Since settling on the coast, humans have engineered the coastal characteristics to suit the purposes of states, the economy and human recreation. At the time of the Treaties of Rome, Europe had just emerged from the devastating aftermath of the Second World War with a 'great hunger' for a liberal life style, leisure activities and travel. The diverse and scenic views of Europe's coasts offered the ideal destination for such endeavors. Soon, a rapid coastal urbanization coupled with a steady increase in mass tourism emerged. Spurred by the trust in technical and engineering capacities, new bold attitudes about building and living on the sea often interfered with the natural sediment transport of coastal systems, leading to erosion. Today, more than 42% of Europeans live in coastal regions with coastal infrastructure worth about 959 billion EURO. Recent and historic high-impact storm events have demonstrated that weather events pose a significant risk and can immobilize cities and countries. The FP7 project, Resilience-Increasing Strategies for Coasts – toolKIT (RISC-KIT), recently issued a policy brief to communicate lessons learned and to support the dissemination of tools, which coastal managers to improve coastal resilience in Europe and elsewhere.

Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies in EU Coastal Areas

Recommendation for EU, National, and Regional Policy Makers

Year 2017

Publication:Report

The RISC-KIT Web-based Management Guide is one of the five RISC-KIT tools designed to highlight key principles recommended for the planning of local DRR measures using examples from the case studies and elsewhere to provide practical illustrations. It is intended to give guidance to coastal managers in Europe and those facing similar challenges beyond the region as well as other groups concerned with coastal management (i.e. coastal resource users, technical and scientific experts and policy makers). The guide includes prevention, mitigation, protection and preparedness measures with recommendations for their use in various socio-economic, cultural and environmental settings. The RISC-KIT Web-based Management Guide is available for download.

Web-based Management Guide

Year 2017

Publication:Video

This movie gives an overview of the five tools developed within the EU-funded collaborative FP7 project RISC-KIT: 1) a Storm Impact Database, 2) a Coastal Risk Assessment Framework, 3) a Web-based Management Guide, 4) a Hotspot tool and Early Warning System and 5) a Multi-Criteria Analysis Guide. These products will enhance forecasting, prediction and early warning capabilities, improve the assessment of long-term coastal risk and optimize the mix of prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures. The movie, animated by Ecologic Institute's visual designer Beáta Vargová, is available via Ecologic Institute's YouTube channel.

An Introduction to RISC-KIT

Year 2017

Language: Swedish
Authorship: Dr. Grit Martinez

Caroline Fredriksson

Beate Feldmann Eellend

Magnus Larson
Published in: Vatten,Journal of Water Management and Research, Sweden
Published by: Lund University (LU), Sweden
Year: 2017
Dimension: 15 pp.
ISSN: 0042-2886
Project: Resilience-Increasing Strategies for Coasts – toolKIT (RISC-KIT)
Project ID: 2729
Keywords: Adaptation

Culture + Ecology

Water

water, risk analysis, coast, floods, storms

Scania, Sweden, Vatten

Further Links

RISK-KIT project website

PublicationArticleWhy Do We Decide to Live with Risk at the Coast?

In the article "Why do we decide to live with risk at the coast?" recently published in "Ocean and Coastal Management", Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute and Susana Costas and Prof. Oscar Ferreira of the University of Algarve explore risk perception in a community... Read more

Costas S., Ferreira ,O., Martinez, G., Why do we decide to live with risk at the coast? In: Ocean and Coastal Management, available online 30 May 2015, In Press.

Lund University Publications