00:00Are Europeans gearing up to face climate disasters?
00:07The destruction caused by Cyclone Harry in Sicily, where four kilometers of hillside collapsed,
00:13prompting the evacuation of more than 1,500 people, has reignited a long-standing debate.
00:20Are people in the most at-risk European regions properly preparing for these increasingly frequent calamities?
00:26According to an EU-wide survey, not so much.
00:30Across the European Union, 87% of households have no flood-proofing measures in place,
00:36such as improved drainage systems or flood barriers.
00:40In Southern Europe, that figure goes up to 89%.
00:44However, many are resorting to insurance.
00:47About 40% of EU citizens now have a policy covering extreme weather events.
00:52Micro-states aside, the countries with the highest rates of insured households are in Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and
01:00France.
01:01At the other end of the spectrum are Sweden, Greece, Croatia and Bulgaria.
01:06Personal preparedness aside, worry levels are high, particularly in Southern and Central Eastern Europe.
01:13A low perception of preventive measures by the authorities only adds to the concern.
01:19Across the EU, 76% say they haven't seen any flood mitigation system near their homes,
01:26such as, for example, dikes or rainwater retention ponds.
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