RegioFEM — Applying a floodplain evaluation method to support a future‐oriented flood risk management (Part II)

Flood risk managers face increasing challenges in anticipating future developments and coordinating flood risk management on a regional level. The regional floodplain evaluation matrix (RegioFEM), a method to support a future‐oriented flood risk management at a regional scale, was applied in a section of the Raab River in Austria. The developed method uses several parameters assessing the consequences of changes in the study area, which lead to changes in flood risk. Settlement development, planned flood protection measures and the likely increase of flood runoff due to climatic changes are considered. Parameters include hydrological (e.g., peak reduction), hydraulic (inundation area), spatial (affected buildings) and monetary (damage potential) ones. The results of the application of the RegioFEM were presented at a regional expert workshop, conducted to gain feedback about the possibilities and limitations of implementing the method into practice. Considering future changes and evaluating their impacts on flood risk can provide stakeholders and decision makers valuable information for sustainable flood risk management.