One in eight Europeans now lives in an area at risk of extreme flooding, says new report

Many European hospitals were also found to be on flood plains.

Transcript

00:00 One in eight European lives in an area at risk of flooding, according to the latest

00:06 European Environment Agency report, which warns of the impact of climate change on the

00:11 entire water cycle, including droughts and forest fires. In 40 years, floods have already

00:18 claimed over 5,580 lives, and the danger seems greater than ever.

00:25 A lot of the economic activities in Europe are still based in flat plains. For example,

00:31 about 15% of industrial facilities across Europe may be based in flat plains. Of course,

00:40 also infrastructures such as wastewater treatment plants are located further downstream, and

00:47 over a third of them in Europe are located in flat plains.

00:55 According to the report, 11% of hospitals are in areas at risk. Droughts and heat waves

01:01 also threaten water quality by increasing the concentration of pollutants. Taken together,

01:07 these events threaten people's access to water, affect the cooling systems of nuclear power

01:13 stations, and affect agriculture.

01:18 Of course, the main consequence is that it affects the agriculture and the food production.

01:24 In 2022, we've seen really drop in production of maize, of corn, of olive oil, for example,

01:31 especially in southern Europe. And it's estimated that around 9 billion of euros every year

01:40 are caused by the losses caused by droughts in agriculture, public water supply, and energy

01:47 sectors.

01:49 The European Agency is therefore calling on all stakeholders to limit the development

01:55 of areas at risk. It suggests solutions inspired by nature, such as planting trees to retain

02:02 water or reusing treated water. Finally, the agency is calling on a more effective early

02:08 warning system.

02:09 [SWOOSH]