Integrate climate scenarios into risk maps
According to the State Councillor, it is now a matter of analysing bad weather and potentially assessing where the weak points are located, taking into account climate scenarios.
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Until now, global warming has not been taken into account when creating hazard maps, says Professor David Bresch of ETH Zurich. In an interview with Sunday newspaper. This has to change: “As long as global warming continues, evacuation will continue to increase,” says the professor who specializes in weather and climate risks. He added that this phenomenon is not new and the losses will increase.
“We have to honestly ask ourselves why we live here”
However, David Bresch believes that it is not possible to know whether funding protective measures for an area is worthwhile. However, the question arises for some highly exposed sites. He calls for individual responsibility: “We must also ask ourselves honestly why we live here, why we bought this property.” The expert needs to ask himself: “Do we want to spend millions of francs to protect three individual houses?”
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In NZZ on SundayThe president of the governmental conference of the cantons of Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Grisons, Ticino and Valais, for her part, regrets that the transfer is discussed from a purely financial point of view, “to the detriment of the mountain population, which is very attached to its region.”
Apart from the mountain population, what the Alpine regions contribute to the country as a whole is not taken into account: electricity production, transport and supply infrastructure and recreation areas. “It’s much more than a few hundred people,” she says. Furthermore, decentralised possession of the region is enshrined in the federal constitution. “That’s why we must do everything possible to keep it that way,” says Carmelia Maassen.
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Analysis, Also published by Sunday newspapershows that damage and deaths due to bad weather have not yet increased over the past 50 years. Andreas Zischg, professor at the University of Bern and co-director of the Mobilier Laboratory for Natural Risks, points out that the protective measures taken were effective. According to Confederation data, the amount of material damage due to bad weather averages 300 million francs per year. And the Federal Office for the Environment indicates that the annual number of deaths has barely changed since the 19th century. On the other hand, if climate forecasts come true, we should expect heavier and more frequent rainfall. “Losses are expected to increase,” predicts Andreas Zischg.