Restoring nature, 'adaptation' helped limit Storm Boris impact
The restoration of a creek in Vienna reduced the impact of flooding caused by Storm Boris, authorities say, one of many projects experts believe helped central Europe endure the deluge better than in previous years.
Flooding unleashed by the storm burst dams and devastated entire villages in central Europe, killing at least two dozen people in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania.
The torrential rains that caused the flooding were "the heaviest ever recorded" in the region, according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network of scientists, inundating homes and farmland.
But despite record rainfall, fewer people died during Storm Boris than in previous major European floods in 1997 and 2002, when more than 100 and 200 people lost their lives respectively, the WWA said in a report published Wednesday.
"We have seen investment for adaptation and mitigation in the affected countries after the events of 1997 and 2002," said Federica Remondi, a flood specialist at reinsurance giant Swiss Re.
"Without those adaptation measures the overall impact and losses might have been even worse," she added, calling for continued efforts despite resources being restrained in some countries.
Prevented 'greater damage'
In Austria's capital Vienna, where no deaths were reported, officials said efforts to restore damaged ecosystems helped offset the impact of the floods, including at Liesing creek on the outskirts of the city.
Austrian officials say restoration efforts at the creek helped mitigate flooding.