The new directive on flood risk management aimed at reducing the risks and adverse consequences of floods in the European Union has now come into force.

 

The directive requires flood risk management to be negotiated across national borders and contains important commitments to increase transparency and involve citizens. Member States are now obliged to identify river basins and associated coastal areas at risk of flooding and draw up flood risk maps and management plans for these areas.

 

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said:

 

"It is important for Member States to prevent the advent of floods and to protect areas which are likely to be affected by such events. It is also vital to prepare European citizens to cope with the potential occurrence of floods. This important new legislation obliges Member States to assess flood risks, to inform citizens in potentially affected areas and to involve them in the planning process."

 

Since 1998 Europe has suffered over 100 major floods, including those along the Danube and Elbe rivers in the summer of 2002. The successive floods of 2005 and 2007 confirmed Europe's increased susceptibility to floods and reinforced the need for action. Since 1998 floods in Europe have caused more than 700 deaths, have displaced more than half a million people and have caused more than €25 billion of damage.

 

The new directive is an important addition to the European Union's water legislation and has been designed for compatibility with the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It applies to all types of floods whether they originate from rivers and lakes, or occur in urban and coastal areas, or arise as a result of storm surges and tsunamis.

 

Implementation in Member States will be done in three stages, beginning with a preliminary assessment of river basin's flood risk and their associated coastal zones to be carried out by 2011. This will be followed by the development of flood hazard maps and flood risk maps by 2013. The maps are to identify high-, medium- and low-risk areas, including those areas where occurrences of floods would be considered an extreme event. The maps will also need to include details such as expected water depths, economic activities that could be affected, the numbers of inhabitants at risk and the potential environmental damage.

 

Finally, Member States are required to produce flood risk management plans by 2015 which must include measures to reduce the probability of flooding and its consequences. The measures must focus on preventing unsustainable land use practices by discouraging, for example, building in flood-prone areas. The plans will also need to cover how to protect flood prone areas from the likelihood of floods and reducing their potential impact by restoring flood plains or wetlands.