Conversely, recent research demonstrates that most of the effective and transformative adaptation and risk mitigation happens at the local level, often through grassroots citizen-led movements. Such movements frequently stem from a deep connection with place and are motivated by the need to sustain livelihoods, preserve settlement conditions, or protect the environment. Community-led initiatives share important affinities with participatory and stakeholder-based approaches in disaster risk reduction and could contribute to addressing implementation gaps through more robust engagement with scientific assessments and evidence-based frameworks.
In this context, and following successful editions at previous EGU meetings, this session seeks to fill in the gap on accounting, analysing, and empowering citizen and stakeholder-centred risk management and disaster risk reduction approaches. We invite scholars from a wide range of disciplines to contribute their work on:
- Transdisciplinary approaches and integrative methods in disaster risk management, vulnerability, risk analysis, and disaster risk reduction that combine knowledge from both academic and non-academic stakeholders.
- Innovative methods and data sources that leverage citizen and stakeholder knowledge into risk frameworks, including mixed methods research with high transferability potential into other applications (e.g., integration with remote sensing and climate models).
- The interaction between societal dynamics and natural hazards, including the influence of urban development on the occurrence and impact of single and multiple natural hazards.
- Case studies and lessons learned that demonstrate the active involvement of citizens and other stakeholders in the design or implementation of risk assessment frameworks, risk mitigation strategies, and governance actions.
Orals: Fri, 8 May, 14:00–15:45 | Room 1.15/16
Action towards climate change mitigation depends on perceptions of severity. With the digital revolution, climate communication is no longer restricted only to climate experts but it has extended to general public as well. This shift raises a question whether experts and general public equally persuade people about the grave need for climate mitigation. In a dynamic social media setting, fragmented attention and contesting content suits the peripheral route of persuasion, where easily readable, and emotionally appealing prompts often captures attention compared to complicated reasoning based on science. Restricted cognitive elaboration among users with low motivation, leads to heterogenous engagement patterns ranging from critical assessment to responses driven by heuristics, causing asymmetries in climate communication. Hence this study applied Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), a type of dual-process theory, on a dataset of climate change tweets to analyse how readability of tweets and complexity of messages (central cues) interact with source credibility (peripheral cues) in shaping users’ engagement on X. Although climate change communication strategies are widely analysed empirical research integrating framing, source expertise and information processing routes in a dynamic social media setting remains restricted. Addressing this gap, the present study aims to examine variations in the readability, engagement, and cognitive framing of climate change discourses on X between experts and general public. Comparing linguistic comprehensibility, user engagement metrics, and shifts in expert communication during important climatic milestones, this study aims to comprehend how message characteristics and source expertise shape public interaction with climate content on social media.
This study compares readability scores and engagement metrics (likes, replies, retweets) on an anthropogenic climate change tweets dataset (January 2022 to May 2023) containing 333,635 original tweets. The tweets were clustered into four thematic areas: scientific, anthropogenic, policy, and conspiracy narratives. We found that expert’s tweets were significantly more complicated with lower reading ease score and higher complexity score. Specifically, such observations were reported in anthropogenic, scientific, and conspiracy clusters for experts. No significant variations emerged in the policy cluster, suggesting comparable readability among experts and general public. Cluster-level analyses indicated that expert-authored tweets consistently garner greater engagement compared to tweets by general public. Across all clusters, retweets were found to be higher in the experts’ tweets. Variations in reply are significant only in scientific and policy clusters. Engagement analysis showed experts consistently outperformed the general public, with significantly more likes and retweets, particularly for scientific and policy content. Expertise strongly boosted engagement (peripheral route), while higher reading ease further amplified this effect, especially for experts. Conversely, higher complexity modestly increased engagement overall but reduced the marginal benefit of expertise for likes. Temporal analysis around major climate milestones revealed spikes in expert activity and thematic shifts, with discourse patterns influenced by cognitive biases, including authority bias, confirmation bias, and group polarisation. The results demonstrate that climate communication on social media is shaped by the interaction of source expertise, message accessibility, and cognitive biases, with implications for science communication and public engagement.
How to cite: Deka, C., Elroy, O., Komendantova, N., and Yosipof, A.: The Persuasion Paradox: How Expertise and Linguistics Shape Climate Communication, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-10031, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10031, 2026.
Urban flood risk is shaped by the interaction between future urban development patterns, spatial exposure to flood hazards, and the performance of critical urban systems. Scenario-based modelling approaches are widely used to explore these dynamics, yet their relevance for planning and flood risk management is often limited by the gap between technical assessments and how risk is understood and acted upon by decision-makers.
This contribution presents a participatory framework for sense-making of future flood risk that builds on existing scenario-based information. The framework structures stakeholder engagement around three sequential components: examination of future urban development pathways and their spatial intersection with flood-prone areas, consideration of system vulnerability information for key urban sectors, and synthesis of these elements into integrated flood-risk narratives. Rather than producing new model outputs, the approach focuses on how existing scenario results can be interpreted, questioned, and contextualised through stakeholder interaction.
Participatory stress-testing is used to facilitate discussion of potential failure points, risk hotspots, and critical uncertainties associated with different futures, as well as to reflect on the plausibility and acceptability of scenario-based flood-risk representations. The emphasis is on the process of interpretation and learning, highlighting how stakeholder knowledge and experience can complement technical assessments.
By foregrounding sense-making rather than prediction, this contribution illustrates how participatory approaches can help bridge the gap between model-based flood-risk assessments and real-world planning and disaster risk governance in rapidly urbanising contexts.
How to cite: Obaitor, O. S., Thanh Vu, B., Nguyen Hoang Khanh, L., Bachofer, F., and Garschagen, M.: From models to reality: participatory sense-making of future flood risk in rapidly urbanizing cities, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-11603, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-11603, 2026.
This study examines how community engagement, historical knowledge, and risk perception can inform participatory and ecosystem-based flood risk management, focusing on the Tagliamento River, the last free-flowing Alpine river in Europe. Using a mixed-methods approach encompassing surveys, interviews, participatory mapping, and historical and flood risk analysis, we investigate local perceptions of flood risks and river socio-cultural values. Results reveal a strong desire to preserve the river’s natural state while reducing risk, alongside persistent gaps in public communication, awareness and preparedness. Also, critical analyses of historical events, combined with local and bottom-up knowledge, reveal how communities have adapted to river dynamics over time, uncovering ecosystem-based strategies that can guide future multi-hazard planning and support more informed decision-making. The recently established Tagliamento Living Lab builds on this experience, providing a platform for collaborative, evidence-based approaches that bring together academia, grassroots organization and civil society to bridge past experiences and contemporary community perspectives. We discuss its scientific foundations and outline the initial scientific considerations for developing a long-term strategy. We also exemplify how scientific communication can support this experience. The research highlights the need to integrate local knowledge, interdisciplinary science, and stakeholder participation into decision-making, showing that long-term disaster risk reduction and river conservation can be jointly pursued through participatory, ecosystem-based strategies, and offering a blueprint for citizen- and stakeholder-centered risk governance.
Acknowledgements: Anna Scaini acknowledges support by Formas - the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development - grant 2022-00329.
How to cite: Scaini, C. and Scaini, A.: Integrating community knowledge and ecosystem values into flood risk management: insights from the Tagliamento river, northeastern italy, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-16709, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-16709, 2026.
Communication is a central component of all phases of the risk management cycle. However, it remains a complex and challenging process. Effective risk communication requires messages to be tailored to specific audiences and to the timing of communication. It must also account for factors such as risk perception, trust, and cognitive and psychological processes that influence decision-making. As a result, even when information is successfully received, it does not always lead to appropriate action. Two particularly challenging aspects of risk communication are the communication of multi-hazard scenarios and the communication of scientific uncertainty. Increasing evidence shows that natural hazards rarely occur in isolation, but may occur simultaneously or as cascading events. At the same time, uncertainty is an inherent component of hazard and risk assessment. When appropriately communicated, it can provide valuable information for decision-making. This study aims to identify key gaps and needs in the communication of multi-hazard risk and scientific uncertainty in the context of volcanic risk management. Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) is used as a case study. Volcanic eruptions are selected because they represent multi-hazard processes in themselves and are characterised by high levels of uncertainty. Tenerife (2,034 km²) presents a particularly relevant socio-economic context due to its high population density (approximately 960,000 residents) and high tourism pressure, with more than seven million visitors in 2024. These characteristics increase the complexity of risk communication and decision-making during periods of volcanic unrest. To identify the main challenges in current volcanic risk communication in Tenerife related to multi-hazard and uncertainty issues, a mixed qualitative approach was adopted. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted online between September 2025 and January 2026 with key stakeholders involved in volcanic risk management. These included political authorities, first responders, civil protection and risk management professionals, scientific institutions, grassroots organisations, tourism representatives, psychologists, and mass media. Second, on-site participation during the first Spanish volcanic eruption drill, held in September 2025 in Garachico (Tenerife), enabled the collection of qualitative data on local residents’ risk perception and inter-institutional coordination. Third, existing communication strategies were reviewed within the main volcanic risk management plans affecting Tenerife: the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Response to Volcanic Risk in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA) and the Island Action Plan for Volcanic Risk (PAIV). The findings of this study provide a basis for identifying priority gaps and practical needs in current communication practices. Future research will build on these results through experimental studies with selected stakeholder groups to test and evaluate communication products addressing multi-hazard scenarios and scientific uncertainty. While focused on volcanic risk, this research contributes to broader hazard communication science by identifying transferable principles for communicating complex, uncertain, and multi-hazard risks to non-expert audiences.
This research was partially funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) of the European Commission (EC) through the VOLCAN project (ref. 101193100).
How to cite: Schneider-Pérez, I., López-Saavedra, M., Martí, J., Castellà, J., and Dietrich, P.: Gaps and Needs in Multi-Hazard and Uncertainty Communication for Volcanic Risk Management in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain): A Multi-Stakeholder Approach, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-2586, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-2586, 2026.
The Canary Islands are the only region in Spain exposed to volcanic risk. From 6 to 8 June 2025, the Canary Islands Volcanological Institute (INVOLCAN) organized one of the ten workshops of the Canary Strategy for Volcanic Risk Reduction project. This one, specifically designed for public and political representatives, focused on examining the role of political leadership in strengthening volcanic risk governance in the Canaries.
A total of 19 representatives from six of the seven major islands (El Hierro, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Gomera, La Palma, and Tenerife), belonging to ten political groups and holding responsibilities in various public administrations - including the Parliament of the Canary Islands, the Autonomous Government, Island Councils (Cabildos), and municipal governments - participated in this workshop.
Participants undertook an analytical exercise to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) related to volcanic risk management in the public and political sphere. They examined structural challenges, institutional capacities, and contextual factors shaping the effectiveness of volcanic risk governance. This process led to the formulation of strategic actions aimed at reinforcing a culture of prevention and improving the Canary Islands’ resilience from a policy and decision‑making perspective.
The internal analysis revealed key weaknesses associated with governance dynamics and institutional practices. Participants noted that political decision making often prioritizes short‑term decisions over long‑term preventive planning, limiting consistent investment in risk reduction. Additional weaknesses included the underuse of scientific and technical capacities, insufficient coordination across public administrations, and persistent challenges in translating scientific information into clear and actionable public communication. Major gaps identified included the absence or incomplete implementation of Insular Volcanic Action Plans (PAIVs) and the lack of a specific legislative framework for volcanic risk reduction and post‑eruption recovery. Other concerns involved deficiencies in territorial planning, low volcanic‑risk perception among decision‑makers, insufficient investment in scientific research, and the use of imprecise demographic data in risk assessments. The discussion highlighted that many critical barriers are rooted in political priorities and governance structures rather than scientific limitations.
Strengths identified during the workshop included the demonstrated capacity for institutional coordination and consensus during recent eruptions in El Hierro and La Palma, which increased awareness among decision‑makers. Participants also emphasized the value of regulatory and planning tools such as PEVOLCA and PAIVs, as well as the essential role of INVOLCAN in providing scientific and technical support for political decision making.
The external analysis identified several threats, including low societal perception of volcanic risk, misinformation and pseudoscientific narratives amplified through media and social networks, social distrust in risk management institutions, pressure from economic sectors, demographic pressure, and the archipelagic and ultra‑peripheral nature of the Canary Islands, which complicates emergency management. Opportunities included heightened awareness following recent eruptions, access to European funding, advances in science and technology, and the potential to consolidate a Canary Islands Strategy for Volcanic Risk Reduction grounded in scientific knowledge, citizen participation, and consensus.
The workshop’s outcomes underline the importance of political engagement and inter‑institutional coordination to advance a comprehensive volcanic risk reduction strategy for the Canary Islands.
How to cite: Páez Padilla, J., Rodríguez, O., Pérez, N. M., D'Auria, L., Hernández, P. A., and Leal-Moreno, V. J. and the Participants in the SWOT analysis for the public and political representatives sector: Exploring how political and public decision-makers could contribute to reducing volcanic risk in the Canary Islands, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-19653, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19653, 2026.
This study investigates the role of social media during the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes through analysis of 117,760 Turkish-language Facebook posts collected from February 7 to 20, 2023. Using natural language processing embedding and clustering methods, five main topic clusters were identified: After Effects, Breaking News, Regular News, Help and Rescue, and Aid Logistics. These clusters reveal diverse narratives, including real-time updates, community rescue efforts, aid coordination, and socio-economic impacts. Engagement metrics, such as likes, comments, shares, and emotional reactions, show that posts in the Regular News and Help and Rescue clusters received the highest and most sustained user interaction, indicating the importance of social media in disseminating information and fostering emotional solidarity and collective action. Temporal analysis demonstrated that engagement with urgent rescue (Help and Rescue cluster) and news content (Regular News cluster) persisted longer than posts about Aid Logistics and After Effects, which declined as official responses stabilized. The study applies the Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework to explain the motivations for social media use and the amplification of risk communication through these platforms during a crisis. The study highlights the potential of social media as a tool for enhancing disaster communication strategies. Specifically, how various narrative types can be effectively leveraged to sustain engagement, support operational coordination, and align communication efforts more closely with evolving public needs during crises.
How to cite: Yosipof, A., Elroy, O., Peresan, A., and Komendantova, N.: Social Media, Risk Communication, and Public Engagement During the 2023 Turkey–Syria Earthquakes: Insights from Facebook Posts, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-2313, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-2313, 2026.
Wildfire risk is increasing worldwide as changes in precipitation and temperature create favorable conditions for wildfire ignition and spread. Wildfire events have become more frequent even in regions with a short historical record of wildfires. In such contexts, scientists and policymakers often assume low public risk perception due to limited prior experience. The risk perception of citizens is well connected to the way they prepare and respond. However, empirical evidence on how residents in these regions perceive wildfire risk, prepare for it, and anticipate their response remains scarce. This study presents results from a survey conducted in Sweden, focusing on risk perception, actual preparedness and willingness to prepare, and anticipated response to a potential wildfire event. The study highlights the importance of removing existing barriers, leveraging institutional trust, and promoting preparedness as a shared responsibility between authorities and local communities to strengthen wildfire resilience. Knowledge regarding the level of risk perception and public willingness to prepare as well as their drivers can lead to targeted strategies, solutions and tools to increase awareness and resilience and to support disaster risk reduction.
How to cite: Papathoma-Köhle, M., Palsson, L. M., and Plathner, F. V.: Is seeing believing? Risk perception, preparedness and anticipated response of citizens in Sweden, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-4470, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-4470, 2026.
People-centred approaches have emerged as a critical component of effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, as they can improve the translation of scientific risk information and operational recommendations into practical action (UNDRR, 2015; UNDRR & WMO, 2022). Participatory processes have also been shown to strengthen community ownership regarding emergency planning, by enhancing trust between the local authorities and their communities. However, evidence suggests that such approaches are not yet systematically embedded in practice, due to various constraints, including uneven conceptualisation and a lack of practical frameworks to support application (UNDRR, 2015; IPCC, 2023).
Building on this evidence, we developed a practical framework for Participatory Emergency Planning within the MedEWSa Horizon Europe project, targeting citizens and key stakeholders involved in emergency planning. The framework is based on a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed and grey literature on participatory governance in DRR and climate change adaptation and is structured around a set of guiding principles for the design and implementation of participatory processes. These principles emphasise: the importance of preliminary in-depth understanding of local, social, cultural and institutional contexts; careful consideration of timing, endorsement by public administrations; active and meaningful community engagement; a focus on realistic and achievable outcomes; the allocation of adequate financial resources, and skills; the integration of scientific and local knowledge; and the selection of accessible and culturally appropriate locations for participation. The resulting toolkit consists of 15 factsheets organised into three interrelated phases: (i) before a participatory approach, focusing on assessing the contextual feasibility, including institutional frameworks, stakeholder dynamics, resource availability, and community capacities; (ii) during a participatory approach, adressing rthe co-assessment of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability , the review of existing emergency plans, and the development of locally grounded recommendations; and (iii) after a participatory approach, covering communication, monitoring, evaluation, and learning to support accountability and adaptive improvement. Although presented in phases, the framework is explicitly non-linear and adaptable to diverse social, cultural, and institutional contexts.
How to cite: Fraschini, F. and Gomes, I.: Participatory Emergency Planning: a practical framework from the MedEWSa project , EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-6785, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-6785, 2026.
The co-development of frameworks and tools that address Disaster Risk Reduction/Managemenr (DRR/M) in collaboration with stakeholders has largely been acknowledged as a key advancement in both scientific literature and practitioners’ forums. Despite the increasing availability of frameworks capable of analysing the interplay of factors behind disasters (e.g., Impact Chains, causal loop diagrams, influence diagrams, fuzzy cognitive maps, Impact Webs, etc.), their uptake within DRR/M practice remains limited. The high analytical capacity of these frameworks is double-edged, as they can become too convoluted and therefore difficult to visualise, follow, and further on to validate in participatory settings. This gap between analytical potential and operational use is also motivated by fragmented dialogue between academia and stakeholders and/or a disconnection between the needs and interests of stakeholders and the purpose of the frameworks.
To address this operational gap and promote stakeholder engagement, we developed Layered Impact Chains and Simplified Impact Chains as frameworks designed to streamline stakeholders’ understanding of Impact Chains. Layered Impact Chains divide full Impact Chain models into layers tailored to the interests and professional responsibilities of different stakeholders. Simplified Impact Chains reduce these layers to their essential elements and connections based on a customised statistical metric. Together, these new models improve the transparency and usability of complex Impact Chains, preserving model complexity and enabling clarity.
The proposed models are applied to a case study examining a multi-hazard disaster scenario relevant for Bucharest, Romania. The scenario considers a major earthquake of over 7 MW as the primary hazard that triggers secondary cascading hazards, including a dam-break flood, post-seismic fires, and soil liquefaction. The full Impact Chain includes 196 elements and 2795 connections, used as a foundation for the development of Layered and Simplified Impact Chains. The full model was developed under a multi-method approach (initially as part of the PARATUS Project), also integrating the inputs from a wide range of stakeholders with DRR/M roles (i.e., first responders, medical professionals, military workforce, policymakers, decision-makers, construction experts, law experts, and representatives of insurance companies). All models were validated in terms of understandability, navigability, and usability through a survey, targeted workshops, and focus groups with the targeted stakeholders.
The case study indicates that the proposed frameworks are accessible and operationally relevant. Layered Impact Chains may be constructed for any stakeholder category of relevance, with the specific configuration of each layer shaped by the roles and responsibilities of the involved actors. A central component of the approach is the collaborative module, which enables the simultaneous activation of multiple stakeholder-dedicated layers. This functionality exposes the elements and connections common to different stakeholder perspectives, thereby facilitating the identification of converging interests, intersecting mandates, and structural or operational disconnections.
We put forward Layered and Simplified Impact Chains as new models that bridge the gap between Impact Chain models and their application in DRR/M. By lowering cognitive load and removing practical barriers to engagement, these new analytical tools enable stakeholders to participate meaningfully in the planning-creation-validation process of the next generation of DRR/M tools for policy and practice.
How to cite: Albulescu, A.-C. and Armaș, I.: Are Impact Chains too complex? Introducing Layered and Simplified Impact Chains for DRM stakeholders, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-5103, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-5103, 2026.
Within research on risk measurement and mitigation, there is a growing need to incorporate the perceptual dimension as a subjective and intuitive judgement, often grounded in limited and uncertain information. Awareness, worry, and preparedness are variables that should be incorporated into risk management plans, for example with respect to extreme meteorological and climatic events. To achieve these objectives, a bottom-up approach is required, emphasizing communication that is aligned with the dynamics of social risk perception and sufficiently clear to elicit citizens’ cooperative engagement.
Citizen science encompasses participatory, evidence-based practices that engage the public in data collection and data sharing, in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda (e.g., SDG 13.3, which focuses on education, awareness-raising, and capacity-building for mitigation, adaptation, and early warning). This approach is expanding globally due to the increasing accessibility of relevant technologies and rising levels of digital literacy and education. Accordingly, investigations of risk perception should consider not only the population’s tacit knowledge but also levels of awareness, which are often associated with demographic characteristics.
The present study is part of a broader research project carried out in collaboration with the Nuorese and Alta Baronia's Centers for Environmental Education and Sustainability and the University of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy), targeting local communities with the following objectives: (I) to assess climate risk perception; (II) to examine behaviours aimed at reducing and mitigating risk; and (III) to promote active participation for self-protection against climate-related hazards. Here we report the case study of Nuoro, the capital of the homonymous province. A questionnaire administered to Nuoro's community was used to investigate: (1) climate risk perception in terms of awareness of meteorological-climatic changes and perceived place-based vulnerability; (2) knowledge of official risk communication tools (i.e., the Civil Protection Plan) and the level of collaborative engagement within the local community; (3) communication channels and information-sharing tools; (4) the extent to which extreme meteorological and climatic events are associated with impacts on individual health.
Overall, the results suggested a good level of community awareness of risks affecting the local area, with an appropriate linkage to health-related risks. At the same time, limited knowledge of the Civil Protection Plan emerged, highlighting a mismatch between top-down actions and bottom-up collaborative activities. Moreover, the community favoured multimedia tools for information exchange, underscoring the effectiveness of digital communication.
Future research is therefore envisaged to strengthen collaboration between local territories and the research community (e.g., universities) through the organisation of local workshops aimed at reinforcing climate risk culture. These activities seek to integrate expert and local knowledge through participatory and co-design processes, in line with the principles of post-normal science and the complexity of decision-making in risk management within urban ecosystems.
How to cite: Malvica, S., Schirru, M. S., Masia, M. G., and Carboni, D.: Climate Risk Perception at the Interface of Civil Protection and Citizen Science: The Case Study of Nuoro (Sardinia, Italy), EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-6891, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-6891, 2026.
Increasing exposure to climate-related natural hazards such as riverine flooding or large hail makes the systematic implementation of preventive measures imperative. Effective risk reduction requires the integration of actions across multiple scales, ranging from individual property owners to municipal authorities. However, both public risk awareness and, critically, the actual implementation of preventive measures remain insufficient to substantially mitigate damage to buildings and infrastructure.
To address this shortcoming, a new open-access online platform “elementa.org” has been developed under the umbrella of the public insurers in Germany. The platform combines location-specific hazard assessment with specific, actionable guidance for risk reduction. It is explicitly designed to serve different target groups, including private homeowners, planners and architects, as well as public-sector practitioners, by providing tailored content and differentiated levels of technical detail.
Low-threshold, interactive features such as risk maps, clickable house models and AI-based visualizations are employed to enhance risk comprehension and to foster a sense of agency among potentially affected property owners. Furthermore, the platform includes a structured register of building components and construction elements that have been systematically tested with respect to their resistance to hazards such as hail impact, standing water, and flowing water. Continuous engagement is supported through the active integration of social media channels and a regularly updated news feed on natural hazard events and prevention strategies.
Currently, elementa.org focuses on pluvial and riverine flooding, as well as hail, with planned extensions to other natural hazards including wildfires, storms, and earthquakes. While information on hazard assessment and reduction has previously been scattered across multiple sources in Germany, elementa.org is the first platform to provide an integrated, user-guided toolbox that leads from objective, site-specific risk assessment directly to concrete preventive measures. The platform thus represents a scalable approach to strengthening preventive action and resilience in the context of increasing climate risks.
How to cite: Bahr, A., Kümmel, S., Kunzendorf, U., and Drews, H.-H.: Elementa.org: a new open-access digital platform for multi-hazard risk assessment and prevention in Germany, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-3269, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-3269, 2026.
Flash floods are considered to be among the most hazardous natural events globally, with rapidly evolving conditions (within six hours from their onset) leaving insufficient time for effective emergency response. Current training methods use static, expert-led simulations that fail to capture the experience acquired by individuals who have lived through or responded to real flash floods. The disconnect between scientific models and real-life experiences results in suboptimal preparedness for both emergency responders and at-risk communities. We present a transdisciplinary approach to flood preparedness training that places the knowledge of citizens alongside emergency responders at the centre of immersive technology development. We are building a Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) tool that turns real-world experiences into useful training scenarios by engaging flood survivors and emergency response professionals in a structured way. Our participatory methodology systematically captures and integrates the often-overlooked expertise of affected communities, identifying critical environmental precursors (debris movement patterns, acoustic signatures, water velocity changes), psychological responses, and decision-making challenges that emerge only from direct flood experience. This knowledge is combined with high-resolution geospatial data and hydrological modelling to create training environments that accurately reflect both the environmental and human aspects of flash flood emergencies. The platform architecture integrates (1) high-resolution digital elevation models with validated flood modelling data; (2) hydrological sensor measurements and UAV-derived terrain imagery; (3) Unity 3D immersive environments simulating dynamic water flow, debris transport, and temporal flood progression; and (4) adaptive scenario generation responding to user decisions under time pressure. Unlike conventional static simulations, our system replicates the cognitive and sensory demands of actual flash flood emergencies. Our evaluation framework embodies the same participatory ethos, involving emergency responders and community participants directly in assessing training effectiveness through validated metrics: situational awareness, evacuation decision timing, hazard recognition accuracy, and psychological readiness. Critically, validation examines whether the co-created knowledge of flood survivors and emergency responders leads to better preparedness and response in the real world. The iterative development process keeps both citizen and emergency responder groups continuously engaged, making sure that the tool stays useful as their needs and insights change. This multidisciplinary combination of real-world experience, scientific data, and immersive technology illustrates how innovative concepts can transform anecdotal evidence into structured, transferable training materials for citizens and emergency responders. This research enhances data-driven disaster risk reduction via human-centred immersive technology, applicable to various climate-related hazards. By combining real-life flood data with high-resolution geospatial data, we create a framework for effective emergency preparedness training that can be adapted to intensifying climate extremes.
How to cite: Nassoh, A. and Teferle, F. N. R.: Co-Creating Flash Flood Resilience: Translating Citizen and Responder Knowledge into Immersive VR/AR Training, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-10148, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10148, 2026.
The Canary Islands constitute a volcanically active region where volcanic risk reduction requires not only scientific and operational capacities, but also effective education and social awareness from early stages. In this context, the non-university educational community plays a potentially key role in fostering a culture of volcanic risk reduction.
This study presents the outcomes of a non-university educational community workshop whose main objective was to conduct a SWOT analysis of this sector in order to contribute to volcanic risk reduction in the Canary Islands. This is one of twelve workshops planned for different sectors of society within the framework of the Canary Islands Strategy for Volcanic Risk Reduction project. The workshop brought together 17 teachers from across the Canary Islands, representing elementary, primary, and secondary (high school) education levels.
The SWOT analysis revealed several key weaknesses, including limited teacher knowledge of volcanic risk, insufficient specific training within teacher development programmes, low volcanic risk perception within the educational community, and limited curricular integration of volcanic risk-related content, particularly in vocational training.
Identified strengths highlight the school as an effective environment for raising public awareness, the presence of motivated and committed teachers, and the availability of educational materials, although these are often underused. Participants also noted the inclusion of volcanic-related content in certain educational stages, the existence of vocational programmes linked to safety and civil protection, the value of interdisciplinary work in early educational stages, and the role of teacher training centres as platforms for professional development and experience exchange.
Conversely, the analysis identifies several key threats, including low social and institutional awareness of volcanic risk, misinformation fueled by media sensationalism, limited interaction between the scientific community and the educational sector, the presence of outdated or non-existent emergency plans, and the infrequent occurrence of volcanic eruptions, which contributes to a weak and fragile collective memory of volcanic risk.
Opportunities identified by participants include the use of drills as educational tools, collaboration with volcanology professionals, greater integration of the scientific community into schools, the use of local volcanic heritage and collective memory as educational resources, and the presence of institutional frameworks and programmes that can strengthen volcanic risk education.
Once the internal (weaknesses and strengths) and external (threats and opportunities) analyses were completed, a confrontation matrix was developed to identify strategic actions through which the non-university educational community could contribute to reducing volcanic risk in the Canary Islands. These actions were classified as survival strategies (weaknesses+threats), reorientation strategies (weaknesses+opportunities), defensive strategies (strengths+threats), and offensive strategies (strengths+opportunities).
These results provide a consensus-based diagnosis of the role, limitations, and capacities of the non-university educational community in volcanic risk reduction in the Canary Islands, highlighting schools as key actors in building a knowledge-based and preparedness-oriented culture of volcanic risk.
How to cite: Rodríguez Rodríguez, Ó., Páez-Padilla, J., Pérez, N. M., D'Auria, L., and Hernández, P. A. and the Participants in the SWOT analysis for the Non-University Educational Community: Assessing the role of schools in volcanic risk reduction: a SWOT perspective from the Canary Islands, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-12237, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-12237, 2026.
This research expands the experience and results acquired within the citizen science pilot project CEDAS (Censimento dell’Edificato per la stima del Danno Sismico), which involved more than 300 students from high schools in Udine (Italy) and allowed collecting more than 8000 building questionnaires (Peresan et al., 2023, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/esss.2023.10088; Scaini et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102755) in different municipalities of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, including Udine and surrounding areas.
The activity was implemented within five months, from January to May 2025, in the framework of the RETURN "multi-risk science for resilient communities under a changing climate" and the PRIN-SMILE (Statistical MachIne Learning for Exposure development) projects. It involved 60 students from the “Copernico” High School in Udine, Italy, and included general lectures on seismic hazard, exposure and risk, as well as interactive quizzes, all specifically designed to enhance seismic risk awareness.
Besides technical training on buildings data collection, a lecture on statistical data exploration analysis was conducted. This allowed students were able to carried out multivariate and comparative analyses between the newly collected and existing datasets, including results interpretation. Finally, the results obtained by different groups of students were presented to an audience composed by representatives of local institutions, regional Civil Protection personnel, engineers, Researchers, and students from past editions.
With respect to earlier editions, this study emphasized the social dimension of this citizen science activity, enriching the contents of the proposed experience, and quantitatively investigating the improvement perceived by participants with respect to the topics covered by the modules (lectures, data collection and analysis). To this end, a specific questionnaire was created, consisting of 38 items, with the aim of quantifying similar activities in a repeated cross-sectional perspective.
The questionnaire outcomes were analysed using statistical software (e.g. RStudio and JASP). Internal consistency of the adapted scales was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, while the perceived improvement reported by respondents was analysed using Paired t-test, Pearson’s Chi-squared test and ANOVA. The Pearson’s Chi-Square Test results (p=0.013, χ²=25.50, Df = 12) highlighted a statistically significant difference in the perceived improvement across the three assessed dimensions (Seismic Hazard, Built Environment and Territorial Context). In particular, participants reported the highest perceived improvement in the dimension of seismic hazard understanding. The Paired T-test revealed a statistically significant average improvement in perceived Data Exploration Skills (p-value=4.999^e-15; mean difference=1.10 points).
We recall that risk depend on three elements: hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Awareness is a factor modulating individuals’ vulnerability to natural hazards, that therefore should be considered as a dynamic, rather than a static, element in risk assessment. The improvement in individual awareness, achieved in similar educational activities, may have positive feedback in modulating risks, especially in situations where hazards and context significantly vary over space and/or time.
How to cite: Sema, M., Peresan, A., Scaini, C., and Barnaba, C.: Enhancing Seismic Risk Awareness through Citizen Science: A case study in a High School in Northeastern Italy , EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-16886, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-16886, 2026.
It is widely recognized in academic and policy circles that urgent adaptation to climate change is necessary in the forestry sector. However, traditional wisdom and risk‑averse attitudes can lead to catastrophic adaptation hysteresis. While the general public readily perceives the link between forests and climate change, one of the biggest threats to both carbon stocks and forest health is the bark beetle, whose populations have surged in recent years due to warming. This is a particular problem in Austria, where Norway spruce (Picea abies) covers more than 50% of forested land. With projected temperature increases and changing precipitation patterns, lowland forests and those in already dry regions (e.g., Mühlviertel and Waldviertel) are approaching their upper temperature limits and sufficient precipitation thresholds. These forests are likely to experience drought and cascading pest impacts, particularly bark beetle outbreaks.
Targeted, systematic research that integrates and evaluates forest management strategies and promotes stakeholder and community engagement is crucial for implementing proactive land management and adapting to future climate impacts. In Adapt4K, we aim to directly address these issues by building multi‑actor and stakeholder organizational capacity in the forestry sector and strengthening system‑wide adaptation by providing evidence‑based options and fostering lasting coalitions across Lower Austria (NÖ). We seek to inspire and mobilize both the general public and small‑scale forest owners by highlighting site‑specific vulnerabilities and the realities of climate change, and by involving them in data collection, analysis, and the co‑development of appropriate adaptation pathways. To achieve this, we are establishing a network of Forest Living Labs in NÖ to be monitored over multiple years, generating high‑quality data to inform broader research and practice.
How to cite: Schott, K., Ziss, E., Leitner, S., Meeran, K., Kitzler, B., Kodym, A., and Hood-Nowotny, R.: Harnessing citizen science and stakeholder engagement, to fuel transformative adaptation, in response to the risks of climate change and bark beetle attack across the forests of Lower Austria. , EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-14638, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-14638, 2026.
Road networks represent critical interfaces where human systems and geomorphic processes interact. In regions with steep landscapes, roads are commonly associated with an increased incidence of landslides. Yet, despite their socio-economic significance, systematic information on the frequency, type, and spatial distribution of road-related landslides remains largely absent. This data gap limits the ability of local authorities to allocate resources effectively, operationalize mitigation efforts, and conduct risk-sensitive infrastructure planning. In this study, we propose an innovative operational citizen-based method that aims to inventory with great detail how road construction, drainage modification, and associated terrain disturbance influence landscape morphology and its related hazards. Focusing on the highlands of Southwestern Uganda, a densely populated tropical region highly exposed to geo-hydrological hazards. We first conducted a detailed systematic baseline survey between November 2025 and January 2026 for road sections of 250-300 m along 254 km of roads of various types across different natural and human-influenced settings. From a total of 937 road section observations, preliminary results reveal various conditions dominated by road cut failure/soil/rock deposit from uphill (22%), active erosion (19%), fresh road cuts (19%), blocked roadside ditches, stone/soil extraction and quarrying of the road cut (7%). To have a detailed systematic temporal and spatial information of these roads conditions, we have established, together with local stakeholders, a network of 15 trained motorcycle-based citizen scientists who, for the next three years, will (i) generate a temporal inventory through systematic bi-monthly monitoring of the roads, and (ii) also report on landslide event occurrences along the road networks. Processes including road cut failures, surface sedimentation, drainage obstructions, pavement cracking, and proximal landslides, are being inventoried. We present here the first results of this operational participatory monitoring framework for understanding a human-influenced hazard in a data-scarce mountainous environment context.
How to cite: Kisira, Y., Twongyirwe, R., Michellier, C., Kagoro-Rugunda, G., Mubiru, D., Kervyn, M., and Dewitte, O.: Citizen-based road monitoring for landslide hazard assessment in tropical highlands of Southwestern Uganda, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-8008, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-8008, 2026.
Dams are critical infrastructure that provide essential benefits such as water supply, energy, flood control, and are commonly used for storing tailings. Brazil suffered tragic tailings dam breaches, in Mariana in 2015 and in Brumadinho in 2019, which caused several fatalities and reshaped national awareness. Consequently, stricter Brazilian legislation now mandates the implementation of frequent dam-breach alert and evacuation drills. Depending on the reservoir's purpose and risk classification, dam owners are required to prepare the population within the Self-Rescue Zone (SRZ), to plan and conduct these exercises annually in coordination with public organs. The SRZ is a hydrodynamically mapped area from which the population must evacuate on their own in case of an emergency because there is not enough time for competent authorities to act on their behalf. Beyond testing operational readiness and efficiency, evacuation drills function as participatory governance tools that integrate citizens, institutions, and technical experts in the co-production of knowledge about local risk, preparedness, and response capacities. The process begins with preparatory workshops to contextualize risks, clarify roles, and train both institutional actors and community members. On the drill day, a predefined failure scenario guides decision-making and communication flows, culminating in the activation of the siren and the self-evacuation of the population along established routes toward predefined safe points. This work presents insights from two evacuation drills conducted in 2024 and 2025 downstream of the Ibirité water reservoir (MG-Brazil). The associated SRZ encompasses approximately 3.405 ± 337 residents and workers. Throughout the exercise, data such as response times, arrival times, and qualitative feedback were collected through observation and post-drill surveys. Regarding stakeholder response, internal procedures, from the identification of the imminent hazard to siren activation, took 22 and 25 minutes for the 2024 and 2025 drills, respectively. These durations, while demonstrating preparedness under simulated conditions, also highlight that actual events could involve longer internal process times due to the inherent awareness built into an exercise scenario. Low rates were registered for community participation, 2.4 ± 0.2% in 2024 and 2.3 ± 0.2% in 2025. Population mobilization and evacuation times were registered for each participant. Mobilization time was between 5.8 ± 5.4 minutes in 2024 and 5.9 ± 5.7 minutes in 2025. Total evacuation time ranged from 13.0 ± 7.7 minutes to 13.5 ± 8 minutes after the alert, respectively in 2024 and 2025. Furthermore, descriptive findings from post-drill surveys indicate that 94% of the participants reported feeling better prepared for a potential flood risk. Key challenges include improving community engagement, effectively reaching socially vulnerable groups, and translating the knowledge gained during drills into sustained preparedness practices. Ongoing research investigates the social and spatial factors influencing participation and evaluates whether these practices effectively enhance protective knowledge and motivation. Overall, this initiative exemplifies how participatory mechanisms can bridge the implementation gap in disaster risk governance within the Global South, where institutional capacity and risk communication often remain uneven. The findings contribute to broader international discussions on integrating citizen and stakeholder knowledge into evidence-based and socially embedded risk governance.
How to cite: Cardoso Eleutério, J., Krause Camilo, B., G. Gabrich Fonseca, M. T., Rocha Silva, A. F., Ferreira Rodrigues, A., and C. Amorim, C.: Fostering citizen and stakeholder engagement through Brazil's dam-breach alert and evacuation drills, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-880, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-880, 2026.
The growing frequency and intensity of climate-related hazards have amplified the urgency of effective disaster risk reduction, yet a persistent implementation gap remains, particularly in translating scientific knowledge into inclusive, locally grounded action. This contribution presents the applied development of the Risk-Tandem Framework within the DIRECTED project, demonstrating how stakeholder-centred governance processes can strengthen the integration of Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation.
The Risk-Tandem Framework was operationalised across four Real World Labs , namely the Capital Region of Denmark, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), the Danube Region (Austria and Hungary), and the Rhine-Erft Region (Germany, following four iterative phases - Foundation, Growth, Learn, and Sustain. Central to the application was a refined indicator set, co-developed with local stakeholders, enabling systematic assessment of governance capacities, interoperability challenges, and participation gaps. The framework draws on transdisciplinary foundations, combining institutional analysis, risk governance, and knowledge co-production approaches, and is implemented through qualitative and mixed methods including workshops, interviews, and collaborative design processes.
Results highlight how the Risk-Tandem Framework supports locally led identification of governance bottlenecks (e.g., inter-institutional coordination, stakeholder communication, and access to actionable risk information) and facilitates tailored technical and governance solutions, including interoperable data infrastructures and co-designed communication tools. Across Real-World Labs, the iterative use of the framework fostered reflection, mutual learning, and capacity development, contributing to more robust and inclusive decision-making.
By moving from a conceptual model to an operational, modular, and context-sensitive process, the Risk-Tandem Framework demonstrates strong potential to address implementation gaps. The findings underscore the value of citizen and stakeholder engagement, interoperability, and sustained learning in advancing transformative, place-based risk governance.
How to cite: Schweizer, P.-J. and Hanf, F. S. and the DIRECTED Project Team: Applying the Risk-Tandem Framework for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons Learnt from the DIRECTED project, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-14106, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-14106, 2026.
Posters virtual: Wed, 6 May, 14:00–18:00 | vPoster spot 3
EGU26-7909 | ECS | Posters virtual | VPS13
A Framework for Fire Risk Assessment in Heritage Cities through Multi-Stakeholder Data IntegrationWed, 06 May, 14:24–14:27 (CEST) vPoster spot 3
Urban fire risk in heritage cities threatens lives, livelihoods, and irreplaceable historical monuments. Nepal's heritage cities, rich in cultural landmarks, face acute vulnerability due to dense settlement patterns driven by uncontrolled urbanization. Fragmented data availability prevents stakeholders from implementing effective fire risk mitigation measures at the community level, which intensifies the existing vulnerabilities. In this study, we address this challenge by developing comprehensive data through collaborative public-private partnerships involving multiple stakeholder experts. We propose scalable interventions designed to reduce fire risk while strengthening community resilience in ways that align with heritage preservation objectives. This integrated approach ensures that safety measures protect both people and the cultural assets that define these historic urban centers.
Our study area is Bhaktapur Municipality, a UNESCO World Heritage site rich with traditional wooden architecture. Our approach combines municipal planning data, private building inventories, community knowledge, and emergency response databases for fire hazards. We integrate Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with GIS technology across three domains: hazard factors, vulnerability indicators, and response capacity. We establish public-private partnerships to gain access to previously prepared fire incident datasets while we protect commercial interests. We establish multi-stakeholder data protocols and develop community-centered collection mechanisms that respect local knowledge systems. We leverage real field knowledge from community-level surveys to assess the present scenario and propose upgrades to current practices. We perform dynamic vulnerability assessments that support both emergency planning and heritage conservation. Through weighted overlay analysis, we determine optimized fire hydrant placement for narrow streets that existing firefighting services cannot access. This spatial analysis ensures that infrastructure improvements respect the historic urban fabric while they enhance emergency response capabilities.
We expect collaborative data partnerships to enhance decision-making through three key contributions: (i) bridge critical information gaps that have long hindered effective fire risk management, (ii) support sustainable development, cultural preservation, and community resilience as interconnected goals and (iii) offer scalable lessons for complex urban management challenges in resource-constrained environments. This integrated framework demonstrates how heritage cities can balance safety imperatives with conservation priorities through evidence-based interventions.
How to cite: Ghimire, S., Dangol, S., Khatri, S., Duwal, S., and Bhattarai, Y.: A Framework for Fire Risk Assessment in Heritage Cities through Multi-Stakeholder Data Integration, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-7909, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-7909, 2026.
