Flood disasters combined with other climate hazards such as droughts, heatwaves and windstorms have increased sharply across Europe over the past three decades, according to a new international study led by scientists from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The research found that more than 70% of flood events recorded in Europe between 1981 and 2020 were actually “compound events” disasters where floods occurred alongside at least one additional hazard. Researchers warned that these overlapping climate extremes are causing far greater economic and social damage than floods alone.
The study revealed that losses from compound flood events were on average 2.8 times higher than losses caused by standalone floods. Every flood event ranked among the top 1% in economic damage belonged to one of these combined hazard categories.
Scientists described the trend as deeply concerning, noting that compound flood events increased by 186% between the 1980s and the 2010s. In comparison, floods occurring without other hazards increased by only 16% during the same period.
Researchers analysed 1,349 flood events across Europe using historical disaster records, hydrological data and meteorological observations. The study examined several types of compound disasters, including floods following droughts, floods combined with heatwaves, windstorm-linked floods, cold spell floods and flooding caused by prolonged wet conditions.
According to the researchers, the growing complexity of climate disasters is becoming a major risk factor in itself. Regions already vulnerable to social or economic stress experienced significantly greater losses when multiple hazards occurred together.
The study highlighted examples such as the devastating Emilia-Romagna floods in Italy in May 2023, which struck after a prolonged drought period. Scientists said such events demonstrate how climate extremes are no longer isolated incidents but increasingly interconnected disasters.
Using machine learning and explainable artificial intelligence techniques, researchers found that flood damage could not be accurately understood by analysing floods alone. Instead, the interaction between multiple climate hazards often intensified destruction, disrupted infrastructure and weakened recovery capacity.
The findings carry major implications for Europe’s disaster management systems and climate adaptation strategies.
Researchers warned that many flood risk models, insurance systems and early warning frameworks still treat floods as isolated events, potentially underestimating real-world risks. The study called for urgent reforms in disaster planning, insurance pricing and climate risk assessments to account for overlapping hazards.
The European Union has already begun promoting multi-hazard disaster preparedness under its disaster resilience goals. The upcoming second European Climate Risk Assessment, expected in 2028, is also expected to prioritise compound climate risks.
Scientists said integrating combined hazard information into early warning systems could improve emergency preparedness and help authorities better anticipate the most damaging disasters.
The study also warned that climate change is likely to make such compound events more frequent in the future, increasing pressure on infrastructure, insurance systems and vulnerable communities across Europe.
Researchers stressed that disaster risk reduction strategies must now move beyond single-hazard approaches and focus on the cascading effects created when multiple climate extremes strike together.