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There is a saying in Finland claiming that an accident does not come with a bell on its neck, but with mobile phones and the possibility to send real-time, localized alerts to people in the affected area, the impact of emergencies may be reduced significantly. 

COVID-19 has brought truly unprecedented times that no one could foresee. Overnight, the world as we knew it, changed! As the coronavirus started to spread and jump, many who were travelling abroad quickly reshuffled their plans to return home to family members and loved ones.

People receive and share information with other like-minded individuals. They do it intentionally and with the encouragement of technology, like search engines and cookies. Some even claim, that we live in “information bubbles”.

Events like the COVID-19 pandemic or the cyclone Amphan hitting India and Bangladesh in May 2020, as the most recent extreme weather events, regularly spur a discussion which revolves around the terms vulnerability, risk groups and resilience. The research project BuildERS took up this debate, since it aims to increase the resilience of European communities.

Who is vulnerable?

When we think about which people are vulnerable during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the most vulnerable seem to clearly be groups such as the elderly and immunocompromised. While it is undoubtedly true that these groups suffer disproportionately from the effects of COVID-19, there are other groups that have experienced extreme hardship during the crisis who have not been adequately considered in emergency planning and response.

You may hear about natural disasters often, but some of the deadliest disasters in world history have been caused by human activities. And, this is the case of Chernobyl.

Less than one year after the start of the BuildERS project, the corona virus emerged in China in December 2019 and quickly spread across the world. All countries are now affected and our societies are undergoing major changes. We are moving towards a ‘new normal’, not only in the weeks and months ahead but also in the years to come. From the way we move and interact socially, to our views on solidarity and the welfare state, key questions are currently in flux. 

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is not only an epidemiological problem, but goes wide and deep into our everyday lives. People are distressed, stock-markets tumble, and restrictions on social gatherings and movement affect millions of people globally. Such reactions pose questions about the mechanisms behind the social and economic outcomes of the pandemic

Today, almost 50% of the European population lives in coastal areas with coastal infrastructure worth approximately 200 billion EURO. Over the past centuries, Europe has been experiencing catastrophic weather events which clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of those zones.

In a global scale, many megacities are located along with the coastal areas with high seismic potential and a great number of people migrate to those metropolitan centres for economic purposes. As migration is increasing, the demand for resilient infrastructure is considered as a great necessity and priority. According to recent numbers, over 700 million people live in low-lying coastal areas and small island developing states exposed to extreme sea-level events including tsunamis.

The BuildERS project aims to decrease inequality by strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities to disasters. The project will explore and asses the critical techno-social and cultural factors which make communities, agglomerations, regions and countries particularly vulnerable or capable to withstand an array of natural and man-made hazards.

Climate change is upon us, its effects getting more visible with each passing year, emerging threats causing unprecedented damage to ecosystems, livelihoods, infrastructure and economies. But there is a growing recognition that affordable and scalable solutions are needed and available to enable us to build cleaner, more sustainable economies and resilient communities.