In Greece, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki team successfully organised the 1st Training Session and Co-creation Workshop on Flash Flood Risk Management (FRMP) and Early Warning Systems (EWS) on Friday the 14th of March, in Thessaloniki.
This was the first in a series of events (the project’s testing phase) within an interactive Training Programme. The objective is to build local stakeholders’ capacity for flash flood risk management by implementing several Integrated Multiactors Governance Model approaches. The event brought together consultants and decision-makers, experts and specialists, and members from the Region of Central Macedonia, the Delta Municipality and Δήμος Θεσσαλονίκης – Municipality of Thessaloniki, ΕΛΓΟ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΑ ELGO DΙΜITRA and ELGA agricultural research and insurance institutions, the UNESCO @INWEB chair, the Secretariat of the Hellenic Hydrotechnical Union, the THESSALONIKI WATER SUPPLY & SEWERAGE CO. S.A. – EYATH S.A. the Technical Chamber of Greece (Flood Management Special Unit), KARTECO SA and other environmental professionals.
This 1st seminar focused on understanding the role of local stakeholders in FRMPs as outlined by EU Flood Directive. The seminar presented the contents and highlighted the importance of EWS in enhancing the preparedness of local communities for flash floods. The setup and results of the locally implemented hydraulic (pluvial and fluvial) flood model HEC-RAS2D were presented as incorporated within the Operational Forecast Platform (OFP) of Wave4Us.
Contributors/speakers included:
– Assoc Prof Zisis Mallios from AUTh (L4F project and Anthemountas pilot)
– Asstnt Prof Christos Makris from DUTh (L4F project’s implementation of EU’s FRMP with a focus on Anthemountas pilot)
– Assoc Prof Y.Androulidakis from UoA (LocAll4Flood project’s EWS with a focus on Wave4Us OFP and Anthemountas pilot)
– Prof. Ioannis Pytharoulis from AUTh (Meteorological monitoring and forecasting within the Wave4Us OFP and the Anthemountas pilot)
– Research Associate Angelos Kokkinos from AUTh (High-resolution flood modelling and forecasting within the Wave4Us OFP and the Anthemountas pilot)
– Research Consultant Marinos Karteris from KARTECO SA company (Good practices of Nature-based Solutions, e.g. green roofs, in the broader Thessaloniki metropolitan area)
Training Session 1 also featured an interactive practical exercise (co-creation workshop) in the form of a serious game (Flood Game provided by partner The Energy and Water Agency). This used flood hazard and flood risk maps of the Anthemountas River pilot to propose/decide/apply after extended discussions, the designated prevention, adaptation and mitigation measures proposed by the LocAll4Flood project (design phase) in the pilot sites.
