News and Blogs

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.