A Multilevel Framework for Flood Risk Assessment of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study from Portugal

Abstract

Cultural heritage has unparalleled significance for the economy, society, culture, and environment. Therefore, its preservation is of utmost importance. In this context, special attention must be given to the mitigation of natural hazard risks in cultural heritage, particularly those that are exacerbated by climate-related extreme events, such as floods. The implementation of risk mitigation measures for cultural heritage assets at national or even regional levels requires prioritisation plans supported by a rational and knowledge-based understanding of those risks. However, due to a large number of existing cultural heritage assets and their uniqueness, the development of natural hazard risk assessments for cultural heritage at large spatial scales remains a challenging task. In fact, it is not cost-effective or feasible to perform a risk assessment for many cultural heritage assets with a very high level of detail due to the tremendous data collection and vulnerability modelling effort this would entail. To address this, recent research works have proposed the application of a multilevel risk assessment framework for cultural heritage, where the assessment of risk is instead performed at levels of increasing complexity. This chapter summarises two recently developed methodologies for flood risk assessment of cultural heritage assets and illustrates how they can be applied and articulated through a multilevel assessment of flood risk for mainland Portugal. (c) 2024 selection and editorial matter, Bijan Rouhani and Xavier Romão; individual chapters, the contributors.