Climate change and risks to the built environment. FINADAPT Working Paper 9

The vulnerability of the built environment to climate change impacts is likely to be manifest in a higher occurrence of extreme weather events, which increases the risk of damage and costs. Most weather-related impacts should be taken into account in normal design and construction practices. Damage is caused if a weather-based impact exceeds the design level, and this can increase dramatically with a rising impact level. Events in recent years have shown that Finnish society is not properly prepared for the effects of extreme weather. In order to prepare for such events, the investigation and documentation of previous damage occurrences is important. Investigations should cover, besides damage costs, the prevailing weather conditions and resulting damage, including the damage process, mapping of damaged objects and evaluation of the technical causes for building failure. On the basis of these investigations, protection measures can be implemented and longer-term measures introduced for adapting communities to withstand climate change impacts. The research needed to improve the capability for adaptation includes basic knowledge (e.g. determination of past and future climate information, development of efficient methods for the inventory and monitoring of terrain conditions and vulnerability over large areas, and development of early warning systems for critical weather events), damage investigations (e.g. documentation and physico-economical analysis of damage processes, development of preventive measures for acute hazards, and development of repair and rehabilitation methods for damaged buildings and structures), building technology (e.g. development of sustainable solutions for design and construction of buildings and infrastructure, and improvement of building regulations concerning climate-induced hazards) and community planning (e.g. development of methods)