Bridging Science and Practice on Multi-Hazard Risk Drivers: Stakeholder Insights from Five Pilot Studies in Europe

van Maanen, Nicole; de Ruiter, Marleen; Jäger, Wiebke; Casartelli, Veronica; Ciurean, Roxana; Padron, Noemi; Daloz, Anne Sophie; Geurts, David; Gottardo, Stefania; Hochrainer-Stigler, Stefan; López Diez, Abel; Díaz Pacheco, Jaime; Dorta Antequera, Pedro; Febles Arévalo, Tamara; García González, Sara; Hernández-Martín, Raúl; Alvarez-Albelo, Carmen; Diaz-Hernandez, Juan José; Ma, Lin; Monteleone, Letizia; Reiter, Karina; Stolte, Tristian; Šakić Trogrlić, Robert; Torresan, Silvia; Tatman, Sharon; Romero Manrique de Lara, David; Hernández González, Yeray; Ward, Philip J.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3075

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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3075

Preprints

18 Jul 2025

| 18 Jul 2025

Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth System Dynamics (ESD).

Bridging Science and Practice on Multi-Hazard Risk Drivers: Stakeholder Insights from Five Pilot Studies in Europe

Nicole van Maanen, Marleen de Ruiter, Wiebke Jäger, Veronica Casartelli, Roxana Ciurean, Noemi Padron, Anne Sophie Daloz, David Geurts, Stefania Gottardo, Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler, Abel López Diez, Jaime Díaz Pacheco, Pedro Dorta Antequera, Tamara Febles Arévalo, Sara García González, Raúl Hernández-Martín, Carmen Alvarez-Albelo, Juan José Diaz-Hernandez, Lin Ma, Letizia Monteleone, Karina Reiter, Tristian Stolte, Robert Šakić Trogrlić, Silvia Torresan, Sharon Tatman, David Romero Manrique de Lara, Yeray Hernández González, and Philip J. Ward

Abstract. Effective disaster risk management requires approaches that account for multiple interacting hazards, dynamic vulnerabilities, and institutional complexity. Yet many existing risk assessment methods struggle to reflect how these risks evolve in practice. This paper explores multi-hazard risk dynamics through stakeholder interviews across five European regions (Veneto, Scandinavia, the North Sea, the Danube Region, and the Canary Islands). Stakeholders described how exposure and vulnerability shift over time due to climate change, urban development, and socio-economic dependencies. The interviews highlight governance challenges and the critical role of institutional coordination, as well as synergies and asynergies in DRR measures, where efforts to reduce one risk can unintentionally increase another. By foregrounding real-world experiences across diverse hazard landscapes and sectors, this study offers empirical insights into how multi-hazard risk is perceived and managed. It underscores the need for flexible, context-sensitive strategies that bridge scientific assessment with decision-making on the ground.

How to cite. van Maanen, N., de Ruiter, M., Jäger, W., Casartelli, V., Ciurean, R., Padron, N., Daloz, A. S., Geurts, D., Gottardo, S., Hochrainer-Stigler, S., López Diez, A., Díaz Pacheco, J., Dorta Antequera, P., Febles Arévalo, T., García González, S., Hernández-Martín, R., Alvarez-Albelo, C., Diaz-Hernandez, J. J., Ma, L., Monteleone, L., Reiter, K., Stolte, T., Šakić Trogrlić, R., Torresan, S., Tatman, S., Romero Manrique de Lara, D., Hernández González, Y., and Ward, P. J.: Bridging Science and Practice on Multi-Hazard Risk Drivers: Stakeholder Insights from Five Pilot Studies in Europe, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3075, 2025.

Received: 27 Jun 2025 – Discussion started: 18 Jul 2025

Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

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RC1:
'Comment on egusphere-2025-3075', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Aug 2025 reply
Overall, the quality of the paper is good and the work is interesting (although not entirely novel, subject to academic trends). Some case studies received more attention than others, leading me to believe that maybe the paper could have benefitted from a more narrow focus on case studies (1-3), to allow space for more in-depth exploration of contextual issues. Nonetheless, it's refreshing to see a practical take on the issue of cascading/multi-hazard risks – a body of knowledge that seems to be populated by frameworks and concepts nobody uses. However, some edits would be required before publication.
Does the paper address relevant scientific questions within the scope of ESD? Yes

Does the paper present novel concepts, ideas, tools and data? Not novel, but the perspective is interesting.

Are substantial conclusions reached? Partly – the limitations of available data should be highlighted more clearly. I understand the emphasis on stakeholders' perspectives, but they provide a flimsy ground to make sweeping claims (see point 4).

Are the scientific methods and assumptions valid and clearly outlined? Partly. The issue of terminology is acknowledged vastly too late (section 4.1), and the approach to handing stakeholders a glossary clearly turned out to be counterproductive. The author's initial approach risked reinforcing gaps between expert discourse and practice, rather than exploring and assessing differences in interpretation. To make scientific knowledge useful, aligning scientific and local knowledge should be a priority. This should be highlighted earlier in the paper. Secondly, the readers would benefit from understanding what countries were involved in regions described. Considering the geographic, political, and socio-economic diversity of the Danube Region in particular, it is difficult to interpret interview responses in the absence of contexts (especially when the authors make claims regarding "fragmented risk management systems which limit effective responses"). Fragmented systems where? Fragmented how/why? Evidenced by what/whom?

Are the results sufficient to support interpretations and conclusions? Partly, but more in-depth discussion is required. For example, the missing references to socio-economic conditions in the context of vulnerability is surprising – particularly when the data suggests this specifically (e.g., Danube and the "maintenance funding constraints" underpinning infrastructural vulnerability). These are not some random system changes, but rather reflect politico-economic decision making that (usually for the benefit of the free markets) seeks to cut public funding for services. This applies to social vulnerability as well: people do not choose to live on unsafe land, in poor quality housing, or choose not to build back better. They do so because they tend to have limited financial means (by-product of economic arrangements that are, again, not without intention). It is as if the authors go out of their way to avoid mentioning economic issues, rather choosing to point to "systemic transformations" which leave the reader to decide what the issue is. However, this is an academic article, not a Rorschach's test.

Is the description of experiments and calculations sufficiently complete and precise to allow their reproduction? Yes (although the paper would benefit from including the codes used as an annex).

Do the authors give credit etc. Yes

Does the title clearly reflect the contents? Yes, although the bridging appears to come in as an afterthought (the issue of section 4.1).

Concise and complete summary? Yes.

Overall presentation: well structured and clear? Yes

Is the language fluent and precise? One minor issue – the more commonly acknowledged term for "long/fast duration events" is slow/fast onset event/disaster. Also in the beginning of the paper, it perhaps would be best to start with risks are, rather than "risk is".

Are mathematical formulae, symbols, abbreviations, and units correctly defined and used? N/A, however the usage of vulnerability concept remains rather inconsistent. Firstly it notes vulnerability as a process, and the goes onto box 1 to provide a neat categorisation for the purposes of discussion. Yet, social vulnerability (for example) is not easy to separate from economic vulnerability, and economic vulnerability tends to produce physical vulnerability (e.g. quality of housing). Whilst tidy for analysis, the point of the paper is to emphasise how messy and interconnected these issues are. The authors should revisit the results section with this in mind (without forgetting the issue of economy!).

Should any part of the paper be clarified, reduced, combined, eliminated? See above. Also, the inclusion of all case studies has been done for the sake of the project, but for the sake of the paper and detail, focusing on 1-3 may be more beneficial (if feasible).

Are the number of quality references appropriate? Yes.

Is the amount and quality of supplementary material appropriate? Would benefit from the inclusion of codes

Other minor thoughts: p7, droughts are generally a water management problem as much as they are an environmental one https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/308. Does not hurt to mention this.
P12 and discussions regarding levees: infrastructural measures themselves can create a false sense of security and therefore becoming counterproductive to DRR . Could be an interesting issue to explore.

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Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3075-RC1

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Short summary

Disaster risk management faces growing challenges from multiple, changing hazards. Interviews with stakeholders in five European regions reveal that climate change, urban growth, and socio-economic shifts increase vulnerability and exposure. Measures to reduce one risk can worsen others, highlighting the need for better coordination. The study calls for flexible, context-specific strategies that connect scientific risk assessments with real-world decision-making.


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