CERIS event ‘Disaster Research Days 2024’, Vienna, 8-10 October 2024

Disasters such as the recent floods in Europe show that disaster risks must be further minimised and preparedness and good disaster management by authorities and emergency organisations is essential. How this can be achieved in concrete terms and across Europe was the topic of the Disaster Research Days 2024, an international conference held in Vienna from 8 to 10 October 2024.

More than 220 scientists, risk managers, political decision-makers, and emergency services from across Europe attended the conference. This event was co-organised by the CERIS, the Disaster Competence Network Austria (DCNA) and the European Science and Technology Advisory Group (E-STAG) of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

The CERIS event was opened by the Austrian Minister for Science Mr Polaschek who underlined that “the devastating floods of the last few weeks [in Austria] have made it shockingly clear how essential it is to anchor disaster protection even more firmly in science. Research plays a central role in developing informed policies that help us be better prepared for disasters.”

The range of discussion topics at this conference was very diverse - from cooperation between science and politics to challenges in integrating innovative technologies developed by national and EU-funded research projects, to building social resilience and protecting critical infrastructures. Therefore, the topics of the 15 panels ranged from societal resilience and safeguarding critical infrastructure to ensuring public health during disasters, dealing with CBRN risks, using innovative technologies for first responders, and how to enhance the science-policy cooperation in disaster management.

Stronger networking between science, authorities, and emergency organisations at the national and European level is crucial to creating synergies and managing disaster risks more efficiently. Closer cooperation enables exchanging scientific findings and innovative solutions to be implemented more quickly in practice. This networking not only enables better information exchange, but also a coordinated response to cross-border crises, which is particularly important in times of increasing climate risks. Initiatives such as the Disaster Research Days 2024 offer the ideal platform to deepen such cooperation and promote future-oriented approaches to disaster management.

CERIS organises several events per year, with some events taking place in Member States such as this one in Vienna. This event with more than 220 participants allowed to reach out to local and regional players who usually cannot be reached during the CERIS events usually taking place in Brussels.