Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and management of flood risks (EU Floods Directive) entered into force in 2007. This Directive requires EU Member States to assess:

• if water courses and coast lines are at risk from flooding,
• to map the flood extent, assets and humans at risk in these areas and
• to take adequate and coordinated measures to reduce this flood risk.

The Directive shall be carried out in coordination with the Water Framework Directive, notably by flood risk management plans and river basin management plans being coordinated, and through coordination of the public participation procedures in the preparation of these plans. All assessments, maps and plans prepared shall be made available to the public (1).

The EU Floods Directive is a consequence of climate change and has to be regarded in connection with the ‘EU strategy on adaptation to climate change’. Background for the Directive was a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) concluding that the number and impacts of disasters have increased in Europe in the period 1998-2009. For example, during this period, Europe suffered over 213 major damaging floods, including the catastrophic floods along the Danube and Elbe rivers in summer 2002. The floods have caused some 1 126 deaths, the displacement of about half a million people and at least €52 billion in insured economic losses (2).