Loss and damage databases are essential tools within the disaster risk management cycle for making informed decisions. However, even in data-rich countries such as Austria, no consistent and curated multi-hazard database is available. Based on the requirements of the United Nations, the European Union, as well as on national demands to deal with disaster impacts, we conceived and set up a demonstrator for a consistent multi-hazard national event-based loss and damage database that addresses event identification, loss accounting and disaster forensics according to international standards. We built our database on already existing data from administration and federal agencies and formulated a process to combine those data in a synergetic way. Furthermore, we tested how earth observation and weather data could help to derive more robust disaster event information. Our demonstrator focuses on two Austrian federal provinces, three hazard types—floods, storms and mass movements—and the period between 2005 and 2018. By analyzing over 140.000 single event descriptions, we conclude that—despite some limitations in retrospective data harmonization—the implementation of a curated event-based national loss and damage database is feasible and adds significant value compared to the usage of single national datasets or existing international databases such as EM-DAT or the Risk Data Hub. With our demonstrator, we are able to support the national risk assessment, the national Sendai Monitoring and federal disaster risk management with the provision of best possible harmonized loss and damage information, tailored indicators and statistics as well as hazard impact maps on the municipality scale.

Extreme hydrometeorological events are an increasing concern in Central Europe, particularly in the European Alps, where they pose significant threats to ecological and socio-economic systems. Risk assessment and management can benefit from a better understanding of how the choice of climate datasets and extreme definition affect the identification of extreme meteorological events capable of triggering hazardous events. Considering precipitation as a key triggering factor for geohydrological hazards, such as landslides and floods, this study compares different meteorological products and statistical definitions for the identification and characterization of extreme precipitation events over 2003–2020 in a transboundary Alpine region between Austria and Italy. In particular, the temporal and spatial match of detected precipitation events and available hazard records is analysed. Three statistical metrics of 1 d precipitation are adopted for identifying the most intense precipitation events, each of them accounting for a different aspect of extreme conditions, i.e., the spatial extent of intensities, the local intensity peak and the magnitude. The metrics are calculated from four gridded meteorological products with spatial resolution ranging from 1 to 9 km. These products include observation-based data (SPARTACUS-TST) and radar-aided products (INCA) as well as reanalyses (CERRA-Land and ERA5-Land). The sets of most intense precipitation events identified by each combination of datasets and statistical approaches are evaluated against hazard occurrences in both space and time. Extreme events defined by the local intensity, i.e., the spatial 99th percentile over the study area, show the highest correspondence with observed hazards. In terms of datasets, the two 1 km observation-based products, especially INCA, offer a more detailed and reliable representation of precipitation intensities and exhibit a stronger association with hazards. Contrarily, the 9 km ERA5-Land reanalysis shows the lowest performance in precipitation extreme identification across all metrics and in their match with recorded hazards, both spatially and temporally. The spatial scales resolved by the meteorological data and/or accounted for by the metrics applied to define extreme events play a crucial role in capturing processes able to trigger geohydrological hazards in the study area. These findings can support the formulation of methodological recommendations for assessing transboundary risks associated with precipitation extremes and related geohydrological processes in the Alpine regions.

Extreme hydrometeorological events are increasingly raising concern in central Europe, particularly in the European Alps, where they pose significant threats to ecological and socio-economic systems. To support authorities to improve risk reduction and climate change adaptation efforts it is crucial to understand upon which conditions the available meteorological data allow for the detection of meteorological extremes able to trigger hazardous events in a given area of interest. Considering precipitation as a key triggering factor for such hazards, this study explores different approaches for the identification of extreme precipitation events and the assessment of their link to geohydrological processes (i.e., landslides, debris flows, floods) observed in a transboundary Alpine region between Austria and Italy from 2003 to 2020. Three definitions of extremes based on regional and local-scale statistics were applied to the daily precipitation grids from four meteorological datasets and the events identified by each combination of datasets and statistical approaches were then compared with hazard occurrences both spatially and temporally. Results show that daily precipitation fields identified as extreme by local-scale statistics, i.e., considering local intensities, report a greater spatial and temporal match with observed hazards. High-resolution observation products, especially if in situ observations are combined with radar data, offer a more detailed and reliable representation of precipitation intensities and relation with hazards. For all methods, the coarser-resolution reanalysis ERA5-Land shows the lowest performance in explaining hazard occurrences, mostly due to the gap between the spatial scale resolved by the data and the one relevant for geohydrological processes. The precipitation statistics and the fields of extreme events identified for the considered region are provided as a reference for further studies. The outcomes of this work can provide methodological recommendations for supporting the understanding and modelling of transboundary risks related to precipitation extremes triggering geohydrological processes in the Alpine regions.

Loss and damage databases are essential tools for disaster risk management in order to make informed decisions. However, even in data-rich countries such as Austria, there has been no consistent and curated multi-hazard database to date. Based on the demands of the United Nations, the European Union and national requirements for monitoring and managing the effects of disasters, the CESARE project (funded by KIRAS/FFG; project end 02/2022) designed and developed a demonstrator for a consistent national event-based damage database. This demonstrator enables event identification, loss and damage monitoring and assessment according to international standards and offers the possibility of disaster forensics. The CESARE system is based on existing data collected by administrations as well as federal authorities which are consolidated according to a common data model. By this means, the primary data and the data collection procedures are not affected and a sustainable exchange of data is made possible. The demonstrator currently focuses on two Austrian federal states, three hazard types - floods, storms and mass movements - and the period between 2005 and 2018. By analysing over 140,000 individual event descriptions, we demonstrated that - despite some limitations in retrospective data harmonisation - the implementation of an event-based national damage database is feasible and offers considerable added value compared to the use of individual data records. The demonstrator will in future substantially support quantitative analysis in the context of the national risk assessment, national UNDRR-Sendai monitoring and disaster risk management at federal level by providing the best possible harmonised damage information, tailored indicators and statistics as well as maps on the impact of hazards at municipal level. The CESARE system is currently being rolled out operationally as well as extended to other hazard categories and the remaining provinces of Austria. With its final implementation, CESARE will provide the most complete event and damage database in Austria.