The evaluation of flood damage is practised in a growing number of EU Member States as an important factor to be considered in the decision process about particular flood risk management measures.   

Unfortunately, the methods used are quite diverse and, sometimes, they do not reflect the state-of-the-art in flood damage evaluation.  Furthermore, in practice flood damage evaluation in some countries only focuses on direct, tangible damage, excluding indirect economic damage and damage to ‘intangibles’ like health, life and the environment.

The key objective of Task 9 was to develop guidelines on the socio-economic evaluation of the most important types of flood damage, including direct, indirect and intangible damages, based on the collation of existing knowledge and research results.

As a result, Task 9 has produced a guidance document titled “Evaluating flood damages: guidance and recommendations on principles and methods” by Frank Messner et al., which can be accessed by clicking on “Publications Currently Available Online” below.

The guidance document is intended for practitioners within government authorities and executing bodies dealing with flood damage evaluation.  Such damage evaluation methods may be needed when preparing flood risk maps and management plans required by the Floods Directive.

Key words:  Flood damage evaluation; intangible damage; indirect economic damage