This indicator considers the number of fatalities, and the overall and insured economic losses from weather and climate-related events in EEA member countries since 1980. Hazards considered are those classified as meteorological hazards, hydrological hazards and climatological hazards as used by Munich Re and based on the classification by the International Council for Science (ICSU) .
This assessment is based on the RiskLayer CATDAT dataset and the Eurostat collection of economic indicators, whereas data from earlier years not covered by Eurostat have been completed using data from the Annual Macro-Economic Database of the European Commission (AMECO), the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook (WEO), the Total Economy Database (TED) and the World Bank database.
Data are received from the RiskLayer CATDAT under institutional agreement and have been adjusted to account for inflation. They are presented in 2020 euro values.
Definition of a loss event: the event can occur in several countries; events are counted by country and by year and type of natural hazard.
The European Commission is working with Member States, the ISDR and other international organisations to improve data on disaster losses. The JRC has prepared guidance for recording and sharing disaster damage and loss data, status and best practices for disaster loss data recording in EU Member States and recommendations for a European approach for recording disaster losses. Once comparable national databases on disaster losses are available for all EU Member States and EEA member countries and these data are reported, this EEA indicator can possibly be based on such data.
Methodology for gap filling
Data gap filling is not necessary.
In February 2021, the European Commission presented the new EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change (COM/2021/82). One of the objectives is 'smarter adaptation', within which a key action is 'more and better climate-related risk and losses data'. This is further developed in the Staff Working Document, Closing the climate protection gap - scoping policy and data gaps (SWD/2021/123).
Article 6 of Decision No. 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism obliges the EU Member States to develop risk assessments at national or appropriate sub-national levels and to make a summary of the relevant elements thereof. It is summarised in an Overview of natural and man-made disaster risks the European Union may face (SWD/2020/0330).
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030), including ‘Understanding disaster risk’, requires that the signatory countries systematically evaluate, record, share and publicly account for disaster losses and understand the economic impacts at national and sub-national levels.
Targets
No targets have been identified for this indicator.
No uncertainties have been specified.