Default options may provide a low-cost way of influencing behaviour without modifying incentives and constraining choices between alternatives. However, an improved understanding is needed on whether they are effective when individuals have experience with making the choice in practice preferences for specific We study defaults can be used to increase insurance coverage against low-probability/...

• A database with flash floods and heavy rainfall events in Germany 2 URBAS project overview • Improving quality of flash flood forecasts URBAS is organised in an interdisciplanery manner. Aspects from city planning, hydrology, hydraulics, meteorology, damage assessment, emergency planning, and insurance issues are playing important roles. In order to get an overview over occurrence of urban fl...

Our analysis of 2707 news stories explores the framing of flooding in Britain over the past quarter century and the displacement of a once dominant understanding of flooding as an agricultural problem of land drainage by the contemporary concern for its urban impacts, particularly to homes and property. We document dramatic changes in the volume and variety of reporting about flooding since 200...

Construction with freeboard—vertical height of a structure above the minimum required—is commonly accepted as sound investment for flood hazard mitigation. However, determining optimal freeboard poses major decision problem. This research introduces life-cycle benefit-cost analysis (LCBCA) approach optimizing new, single-family residence, while incorporating uncertainty, and, in case insured ho...

Damage assessments of natural hazards supply crucial information to decision support and policy development in the fields of natural hazard management and adaptation planning to climate change. Specifically, the estimation of economic flood damage is gaining greater importance as flood risk management is becoming the dominant approach of flood control policies throughout Europe. This paper revi...

This chapter discusses the primary issues related to designing foundations for residential buildings in coastal areas: foundation design criteria, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements on coastal construction in A and V zones, the performance of various foundation types, and foundation construction. Foundations in coastal areas should be designed in accordance with the 2006 or 20...

Since the early 1900s, the federal land management agencies—the Forest Service in particular—have focused their wildfire management efforts on suppression. A century of wildfire suppression policy has created a buildup of natural fuels in the Nation’s forests that contribute to larger, more damaging fires today. This, coupled with the rapid development of the Wildland-Urban Interface, makes tod...