The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is coordinating a research project studying the effects of extreme-weather events on the safety and reliability of traffic systems.
The EWENT project, which was launched by the EU, will also estimate the cost effects of weather-related disruptions.
The project is motivated by concern over the increase in extreme-weather events caused by climate change.
The EWENT project supports ways of mitigating the effects of extreme-weather events on the transport of people and goods.
The study will focus on the safety and reliability of air, ground and water transport as well as on the cost effects of traffic disruptions.
The project will identify dangerous extreme-weather events and estimate their probability and effects.
It will also estimate the cost effects of traffic disruptions, such as those associated with human casualties, material damages and discontinued supply chains.
The main purpose of the project is to support the adaptation to climate change.
In addition to the various authorities, the project results may be useful for businesses, project financers and insurers.
The results can be leveraged in various ways, such as in creating the sizing criteria of infrastructures, pointing out needs for enhanced maintenance capabilities, developing cooperation between authorities and preparing for exceptional conditions.
The pre-engineering of co-European and national risk-management methods and processes is one of the project's key tasks.
The project will be carried out between 2010 and 2012.
The total project budget is approximately EUR2m (GBP1.8m).
The participants of the EWENT project coordinated by VTT are: the German Aerospace Center; the Institute of Transport Economics in Norway; Foreca Consulting in Finland; the Finnish Meteorological Institute; the Meteorological Service in Cyprus; Osterreichische Wasserstrassen in Austria; the European Severe Storms Laboratory in Germany; and the World Meteorological Organisation of the UN.
The consultative board of the project consists of representatives from the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, the European Investment Bank, the OECD, insurance company Allianz and the Polytechnic University of Turin.
