PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Floods and forest fires can be among the most devastating natural disasters, causing severe socioeconomic impacts, including loss of life, the destruction of private and public property and the disruption of economic activities and cultural heritage.
Floods and fires also contribute to the degradation of Europe's ecosystem services. This ecological degradation becomes even more severe when events have overlapping effects. For example, a flood event becomes more probable and is likely to be more catastrophic when occurring in an area where forest cover has been devastated by wildfire.
Efficient risk assessment and effective management of floods and forest fires are national priorities for most Mediterranean countries, where peri-urban areas are particular vulnerable to the combined effects of these natural hazards. Floods and forest fire risks have traditionally been assessed separately, with separate systems for collecting information and modelling risks. In Greece, in particular, flood and forest fire management in recent decades has mainly focused on suppression, which have not brought about the desired results.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the FLIRE project was to introduce a combined, effective and robust risk-assessment and management system for both flash floods and forest fires, using state-of-the-art tools, technologies and methods, and taking into account prevention, adaptation and interaction issues.
The project's main objectives were:
- To develop a Weather Information Management Tool (WIMT) that will receive short-term weather forecasting information and dynamically take account of local conditions to classify the risk of floods and fires;
- To develop a near real-time flood risk assessment and management tool, which will include a catchment modelling component, an urban modelling component and an Early Warning System (EWS). This tool will receive flood risk information from the WIMT and activate, if necessary, the corresponding EWS;
- To develop a near real-time forest fire risk assessment and management tool, which will include a fire modelling component and an EWS. It will receive forest fire risk information and, if necessary, activate the corresponding EWS;
- To develop a planning tool for flood risk assessment and management, based on the catchment modelling and urban modelling components of the flood management tool;
- To integrate these components into a common decision-support system for integrated flood and forest fire management.
RESULTS
The FLIRE project developed FLIRE DSS, a web-based decision support system for controlling fires and managing flood risks. FLIRE DSS is available online via a web browser, and does not require the installation of additional software. It is thus easy to use and maintain. The DSS, which covers preparedness as well as emergency response, is available in Greek and English
Following a vetting procedure, key stakeholders and relevant authorities are provided with a username and password to access the DSS interface and the spatial data visualisation board. They can also access data gathered at the project study site in Rafina, Greece, where following tools were tested and validated:
- The Weather Forecasting Tool
- The Weather Station Tool
- The Fire Management Tool
- The Fire Danger Tool
- The Floodplain Data Tool
- The Alerting Tool
- The Planning Tool
The area of Rafina has suffered severe floods following extensive forest fires over the past few years. Although the tools were shown to have the potential to satisfactorily address these threats, monitoring within the project's duration was considered insufficient and the period has been extended to include the five-year after-LIFE period.
The project was in line with European and national policy priorities, such as the seventh European Action Programme regarding sustainable management of national resources, protection of nature and biodiversity and safeguarding of human health. It also contributes to several EU directives (Birds Directive, Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive). Furthermore, efficient management of floods and forest fires are priority areas of Greek environmental and civil protection policy.
