In July 2021 Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands experienced large-scale flooding due to extreme rainfall events and overflowing rivers. Many roads and bridges were severely damaged and these types of flooding events are now between 1.2 and 9 times more likely than in the cooler pre-industrial climate.
A recent EU study investigated whether the potential level of disruptive impact on the road networks of European countries could reach a socio-economic tipping point, with an abrupt and large loss of road-network function. To answer this question, the researchers analysed the robustness of road networks under unfavourable flood combinations in the European Member States.
Read the full study here.