Author(s): Gianni, Eleni ; Tyrologou, Pavlos ; Couto, Nazaré ; Correia, Vítor ; Brondi, Sonia ; Panagiotaras, Dionisios ; Koukouzas, Nikolaos
Date: 2023
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/164091
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Geology; Insurance; Natural hazards; Risk management; Environmental Science(all); SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 13 - Climate Action
Funding Information: Open access funding provided by HEAL-Link Greece. This research was partially funded by the European Union’s Interreg Atlantic Area, European Regional Development Fund, under the project AGEO Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management. FCT/MCTES is also acknowledged for funding CENSE (UIDB/04085/2020) and N. Couto research (CEECIND/04210/2017). Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).
During the last decades, natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, storms, droughts, and cyclones, have increased in frequency and severity, influenced by climate change and population growth. These natural hazards can become sudden-onset disasters, causing human losses and property damages that affect economic stability and growth. Although there is a pressing need for risk decrease and adaptation strategies to these unexpected events, targeted natural hazard insurance would be a valuable tool to counteract governmental and individual consequences. This paper summarizes an overview of risk assessment and mitigation strategies based on geological, geomorphological, and meteorological factors. The study includes an examination of monitoring systems for movement and gas emissions, risk and emergency maps, and highlighting the vulnerability of different areas at national and regional levels. Furthermore, the paper addresses the importance of promoting comprehensive geological and geotechnical knowledge among citizens of every socio-economical group and proposing the tools to effectively deliver the message, aiming at increasing the willingness for natural hazard insurance at both individual and governmental scales for human and property protection.
