Risk‐based floodplain management: A case study from Greece

The use of engineering risk analysis and multi‐objective decision‐making under risk are considered as tools for floodplain management and extreme flood protection. Distinction is made between (a) the catchment or large scale planning and (b) the local or small‐scale design of protection measures. After defining the risk of flooding at different scales and specifying the multiple criteria that must be considered when choosing between alternative measures of floodplain protection and management, the methodology used is illustrated in a case study from Greece (Giofyros Basin, Crete Island), where a devastating flash flood occurred on 13th January 1994. Possible remedial structural and non‐structural solutions are analysed in order protect the inhabited area and important public buildings from future extreme floods.