CAPFLO tools will be implemented through 5 case studies in different river stretches across Europe with relevant past flood events. The case studies will be deployed in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands where the capacity assessment and participatory tools will be used.
SPAIN
Cities involved: Aragon autonomous region and includes 7 municipalities of Ribera Alta.
Affected Population: 15,758 inhabitants
Last flooding episodes: 2003, 2007, 2013, 2015
Ribera Alta has been identified as a “high risk of floods area” in the Flood Risk Management Plan of the Ebro river basin. Flood events in this area are recurrent and those episodes have caused important economic and social damages. Therefore, institutions, citizens, agriculture and environmental sectors have a common interest on finding effective measures for floods mitigation.
THE NETHERLANDS
Cities involved: Itteren and Borgharen in the municipality of Maastricht
Affected Population: 2,800 inhabitants
Last flooding episodes: 1993, 1995, 2003, 2011
An effort to improve flood risk in the area has been initiated in response to the major 1993 and 1995 flood events. The so called Maaswerken program includes the construction of dikes, natural areas and gravel extraction (whose revenues pays the works) along the Meuse. Works in the case study area will be concluded in 2017. Traditionally the case study area is one of the few in the Netherlands where self-reliance has been the norm in case of floods. However, research has shown that the construction of flood defense infrastructure may have undermined the capacity of the local communities to be self-prepared because they feel safe behind the dikes and the new infrastructure has rendered more difficult for locals to interpret the signs of the river. The case study therefore provides an interesting opportunity to assess how different flood risk management approaches interact and play out in terms of community resilience.
FRANCE
Cities involved: Vitry-sur-Seine (Parisian Region)
Affected Population: 26,000 inhabitants
Last flooding episodes: 1955, 1982, 2016
Vitry-sur-Seine is located 4 km south of Paris and currently has a plan to prevent from floods (warning systems, evacuation and relocation plan). Vitry appears to be a territory where major development of “Greater Paris” projects are to be located. Therefore, a city capable of coping with a flooding event is highly needed.
ITALY
Cities involved: 36 municipalities, in particular Bobbio and Rivergaro
Affected Population: 10,000 inhabitants
Last flooding episodes: 1953, 2015
This basin, situated in hills and mountains areas, can be hit by intensive rains in the mountain areas, while rains are generally modest in the hills and the plain areas. 56% of the overall population and 11% of the overall surface of the Trebbia sub-river basin are subject to a risk of floods. The recent flooding events (2015) caused 3 deaths and several social and economic damages. To increase local actors’ capacity to prevent and manage floods, the ARTURO project, led by the mayor of Rottofreno, is tested in the Trebbia area. The project aims to provide a smart risk assessment and communication tool for flood risk prevention and management. The digital tool ARTURO integrates georeferenced flood risk data from several sources and provides various types of alerts for local actors in charge of flood management (i.e. mayors) and a set of guidelines for both mayors and citizens on actions to be taken in case of risk of flood events.
GERMANY
Cities involved: Parts of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria
Affected Population: approx. 14,860 inhabitants
Last flooding episodes: 1999, 2002, 2005, 2013
The river Iller located in the Danube Basin is identified as an area of high flood risks and was several times affected by floods. Interestingly, it marks the border between the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, which means that different approaches towards flood risk management and mitigation are employed at both sides of the river. Whereas institutionalized co-operation between different communities exist in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria has a more state-centred approach, which nonetheless relies on information structures between state actors and municipalities.