Posts Tagged: multi-hazard
Re-watch the BORIS2 webinar from June 12, 2025
The BORIS2 team was excited to welcome more than 40 participants to last week’s webinar ‘Methodology for Cross-Border Emergency Management Planning’. Thanks to everyone interested in the event, for asking questions and to our speakers Maria Polese, Matjaz Dolsek, Radmila Salic Makreska and Mojca Premrl – for sharing insights into the project and other initiatives that deal with cross-border collaboration in the field of crisis management!
In case you missed it, you can find the recording of the webinar here:
Workshop on multi-risk assessment in cross-border areas in Trieste
After the first stakeholder workshop in Vienna in late February, the BORIS2 team concluded another two-day stakeholder workshop yesterday. This time, the event took place in Trieste and was hosted by OGS, presenting results achieved so far and planning the last quarter of the project. The workshop brought together not only the project partners but also external experts and end-users who shared their experiences and provided feedback regarding the BORIS system.
The event started with an introduction by Valerio Poggi (OGS) and project coordinator Maria Polese (CI3R) as well as a summary by Matjaž Dolšek (University of Ljubljana) on the challenges and solutions identified in terms of the BORIS2 methodology (which is also the topic of the next BORIS2 webinar on June 12). Marta Faravelli and Davide Quaroni (EUCENTRE), then, presented the prototype of the BORIS2 platform. This was followed by insightful presentations from
💡 Mojca Premrl – who talked about the Interreg project IN4SAFETY focused on joint emergency action plans
💡 Aldo Primiero (Friuli Venezia Giulia Civil Protection) – who provided the perspective of regional civil protection organizations, esp. regarding seismic risks
💡 Alessandro Gallo (coordinator of volunteers, Comune di Gorizia) – who shared challenges often faced by municipalities when responding to earthquakes
💡 Mihelj Borut (Nova Gorica fire brigade) – who talked about possible solutions for first responders who deal with the many unknowns in disasters.
Of course, there were extensive discussions, also on the remaining tasks of the project. There was also some time for informal networking and visiting beautiful Miramare Castle close to the workshop location.
“Grazie mille” to everyone who contributed to this event!
More BORIS2 Results: Synergies and Integration of Existing Initiatives Within the UCPM
We are happy to share more results from our project: Deliverable D2.3 (Synergies and Integration of Existing Initiatives Within the UCPM) aims to investigate, identify and utilise synergies between the BORIS2 project and existing Union Civil Protection Mechanism initiatives. By considering the results of these initiatives, BORIS2 seeks to improve its methodologies, tools and frameworks for DRM, particularly for cross-border and multi-risk assessments. This report shows how existing projects and networks contribute to BORIS2 activities and promote a coherent approach to disaster resilience and emergency planning across Europe.
The report features a comprehensive review of past and current EU and UCPM-funded projects. This review includes a detailed examination of the objectives, outcomes and methodologies of these projects to identify overlapping objectives and complementary approaches. Understanding these initiatives allows us to identify approaches and outcomes that may be relevant to BORIS2. An important part of this process is the identification of common methods and tools used in these initiatives.
Tackling Urban Disaster Risks – Successful Webinar with Experts from Austria and Italy
We were pleased to welcome more than 60 participants to today’s webinar on “Tackling Urban Disaster Risks: Barriers, Data Needs, and Frameworks in a Multi-Hazard Context”, organized by the Disaster Competence Network Austria. The webinar provided inputs from experts from Austria and Italy, and attracted participants from universities, research institutes, civil protection deparments and other organizations involved in cross-border-collaboration from all over Europe and beyond.
As part of the BORIS2 team, Maria Polese and Daria Ottonelli presented the project and the findings of work package 2 – context analysis and needs assessment. Our external speakers, then, provided practical inputs from their everyday work: Tanja Schriebl and Günter Hohenberger from the Office of the State Government of Styria, Austria, talked about the contingency plan for floods for the border (river) Mur and Elena Speranza from the Italian Civil Protection Department presented an overview on emergency planning and Italian civil protection tools.
Curious about the insights presented in the webinar? You can re-watch it here:
Find out more about the speakers of the webinar:
Maria Polese is associate Professor of Structural Engineering at University of Naples Federico II. As member of ReLUIS and CI3R, she is coordinator of BORIS2 and has led the WP3 – Good Practices and Scenarios of the EU Project ROADMAP2. She is also leader of the WP2 “Multi-risk-oriented modeling of urban systems” – of the spoke TS1 “Urban and Metropolitan Settlements” within Extended Partnership RETURN. She is expert in seismic vulnerability, risk/loss estimation methodologies, multi-risk assessment and crisis management policies framework.
Daria Ottonelli is a researcher in the Department of Risk Assessment and Loss Data at the CIMA Research Foundation. Daria is a Building Engineer and holds a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Genoa, where her research focused on assessing seismic performance and evaluating losses in unreinforced masonry buildings. Currently, her research centers on the risk and impact analysis of natural hazards, with a particular emphasis on floods, in both single and multi-risk environments. Her work involves characterizing exposure – including population, buildings, infrastructure, and services – by integrating global datasets with local information to enhance vulnerability assessments.
Tanja Schriebl studied civil engineering and water management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, and works at the Office of the State Government of Styria, Austria, at the department for water management. Since 2022, she focuses on international water management, runoff analyses and hazard zone planning as well as water law procedures. She is a member of the Permanent Austrian-Slovenian Commission for the Mur river, and the steering committee of the five-country Mur-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve.
Günter Hohenberger studied at the University of Vienna, and obtained an M.Sc. in risk prevention and disaster management. He works for the Office of the State Government of Styria, at the Department for Civil Protection and Defense where he has been the head of the State Alarm and Warning Center since 2011, which is responsible for all types of crises and disasters in Styria. Before that, he worked in Planning and Response in civil protection. He is a member of the permanent Austrian Crisis Management Commission and also EUCP-trained.
Elena Speranza is an architect of the Italian Civil Protection Department with a specific background on seismic risk, seismic vulnerability and risk prevention issues. She is currently in charge of coordinating a specific unit of the Civil Protection Department for the governance of an extraordinary plan for vulnerability analysis of the Campi Flegrei area, instituted by law (DL 140/2023).