HANZE: Historical Analysis of Natural Hazards in Europe

HANZE database, or ‘Historical Analysis of Natural Hazards in Europe’, aims to provide information on exposure to natural hazards for 37 European countries and territories from 1870 to 2020 in 100 m resolution. The database was constructed using high-resolution maps of present land use and population, a large compilation of historical statistics, and relatively simple and explicit models and disaggregation techniques. It is accompanied by a compilation of past damaging floods in Europe, which contains information on dates, locations and losses for 1564 events (1870–2016). Demographic and economic data encompassed in HANZE allow to ‘normalize’ information on losses due to natural hazards by taking into account price inflation as well as changes in population, production and wealth. It can be utilized to study changes in exposure, vulnerability and risk to various natural hazards.