4th European Conference on Flood Risk Management

About FLOODrisk 2020

FLOODrisk2020: science and practice for an uncertain future

Flood Risk Management is by definition dealing with uncertainty. Floods occur often enough, but the timing and location of flood events are uncertain, and so is the response of society. But the concepts and methods of flood risk analysis and management are progressively tuned to deal with this kind of uncertainties.

Global change, however, holds uncertainties of a different kind. Climate change, sea level rise, increasing rainfall and storm incidences, and possibly changing river discharge regimes influence flood hazards to an unprecedented and uncertain degree. Demographic changes, urbanization, economic development, increasing dependency on global networks and critical infrastructure make societies more complex and more vulnerable to flooding and prone to increasing inequality.

The gradual but uncertain changes challenge both flood risk management science and practice:

• what do we know about these changes, and how to take them and the related uncertainties into account in our methods?
• and how to cope with uncertainty and change in practice?

The first may require the application of new technologies for monitoring, to exploit big and real-time data, as well as the development of new methods for risk analysis and decision support. The second may require practical guidance for building resilience, views on gradual adaptation into the future or an action perspective for managing a transition of our flood risk management policies. In this context we, obviously, relate to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recently adopted by the UN (2016) and to the Sendai agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). And, habitually for all FLOODrisk conferences, we are committed to the EU-Directive on Flood Risk Assessment and Management.

This challenge of scientific innovation and practical adaptation is too big for the current generation of scientists and practitioners. FLOODrisk2020 is therefore committed to attract, coach and listen to the next generation of scientists and practitioners who will future-proof our research methods and help to improve our flood risk management practice in order to better cope with deep uncertainty.

Virtual Conference

Web-based gateway

The online conference will centre around a web-based gateway that will give delegates access to virtual rooms where they will be able to view video or audio presentations of the papers and posters, submit questions and attend live question and answer sessions with oral presentation authors.

Virtual exhibition

Access will also be granted to a virtual exhibition hall where partners, sponsors and exhibitors will be able to publish posters, brochures, video presentation and access live chat with delegates from two weeks prior to the conference, throughout the conference and after the conference. A programme of pre-recorded presentations and live question and answer sessions will also be organised for all exhibitors to encourage discussions with delegates.

Enabling virtual meetings and interaction

The web gateway will also include a networking area enabling delegates to contact their peers via a messaging service. Delegates would also be able to pitch ideas, prior to the event and invite delegates to attend live pitching sessions online during the conference.

Instructions to authors

All authors will be required to upload a video or audio presentation of their paper or poster no later than 2 weeks prior to the conference opening date when access to all presentations will be opened for all delegates. This should ensure that delegates have ample time to view presentations and submit their questions ahead of the live question and answer and discussion sessions, a programme of which will be published in due course. Access to videos/audios will remain open throughout the duration of the conference and after the conference.

We will provide help for all presenters on how to record a video or audio presentation and upload it to the web gateway.