Europe at risk

The chapter describes present risk conditions in Europe, focusing on hazard, exposure and vulnerability recognised as crucial components of any risk assessment. To draw a picture of risks in Europe, results of past research carried out so far at the European level were extensively searched, showing achievements and gaps in data provision as in current understanding of the most important risk parameters. What clearly emerges is the need to develop tools and methods for assessing risks at a European scale, beyond the individual evaluations that each country may have developed within national borders. The relevance at a European scale can be appraised either in case of regional type events, transboundary in their nature, or as far as the consequences of events are taken into account. Because of systemic links, in fact, and the growing interdependence of infrastructures, social and economic assets, an event in a given area may have repercussions miles away and on apparently distant systems.