Background Climate changes are expected to fuel an increase in the magnitude and frequency of flood incidents for many parts of the EU. Floods regularly cause heavy environmental and economic damages and recent EU flood incidents demonstrate deficiencies in forecasting flood hazards and threat locations. International action programmes emphasise greater focus on flood prevention measures and the application of precautionary principles. A significant increase in the number of people and economic assets located in flood hazard zones has been noted. However, these updated factors may not always have been integrated within existing flood hazard mapping models. Cost-effective mechanisms are therefore required to facilitate up to date assessments of flood risks in different areas. This information can help inform the design of precautionary measures, such as dyke constructions. Objectives The FLOODSCAN project aimed to provide these new flood hazard assessment mechanisms by testing a novel, intelligent and cost-efficient technology for precise identification and mapping of flood hazard areas. The new approach intended to help reduce negative impacts of flood incidents by providing reliable and accurate information for regional planning authorities to formulate regulations and manage land use. Information gained by the new models was also intended for use in raising awareness amongst citizens about flood risks. Outcomes from the project were anticipated to have strong demonstration value and be transferable to EU experts and authorities responsible for water management and flood protection. Results FLOODSCAN successfully demonstrated a new technology that enables fast and cost-effective identification of present and future flood hazard areas. FLOODSCAN has also improved flood risk communication with the general public, improved EU knowledge about floods, and will lead to a long-term expansion of available information tools (flood hazard maps, travelling exhibition, etc.). FLOODSCAN’s technology uses a hydraulic 2d-modelling of flood hazard areas. This combines laser scanning with remote sensing data and was applied on a large territorial scale. A high-performing Web mapping service infrastructure was also implemented. Key to the project’s success is the technology’s automatic data compression procedure, which reduces data by as much as up to 98% but maintains a consistent level of detail. This methodology has solved a major problem of elaborating detailed flood hazard and flood risk maps. Hence, FLOODSCAN’s new technology now allows stakeholders to obtain detailed data at reasonable effort. This represents a significant step forward since previous methodologies were both time and cost-intensive. While it is difficult to accurately compare, the data-gathering methodology demonstrated by FLOODSCAN is estimated to be more cost effective than the traditional approach, with an overall saving of around one-third. Figures given by the project suggest that FLOODSCAN costs EUR 750/river km, compared with EUR 1 200/river km for the previous approach. Consultations with the general public and specialist users helped inform the development of new flood hazard maps and improvements to the existing web-based flood mapping service (www.iug.bayern.de). The updated service went online in September 2010. Users can now see maps for different flood event frequencies (high “10-year”; medium “100-year”, and low probability “extreme” floods), which are highlighted in shades of blue, for ease of understanding. The maps also show the water depth of different flood events and areas in flood plains where building is prohibited. The web mapping service, increases both the amount of information available and the level of detail. It creates more transparency because homeowners, local and regional planning authorities as well as insurance companies have access to the same level of information. Whilst maps of designated flood areas were previously available in Bavaria, these did not include the different flood scenarios (10-year, etc) and water depth information. In line with the INSPIRE Directive for harmonising the sharing of geo-data by mapping agencies (2007/2/EC), the information used to generate the maps is also available in real-time to insurance companies, which are then able to generate their own “front-end” maps. The new mapping service is also very useful for local and regional authorities. In Germany, county administrations lead the legal planning process for the declaration of a flood area, whilst municipalities are responsible for zoning regulations. This increased information enables better zoning and municipalities now have access to the online service and flood hazard maps and can take more effective planning decisions. The more detailed information made available by the FLOODSCAN technology has already led to the banning of building in certain areas. The LIFE FLOODSCAN project developed a number of innovative ways of getting its message across to the general public. One of these was a “flood phone booth”, that played audio messages aimed at different age groups and explaining different aspects of floods, as well as displaying flood hazard maps and pictures of inundation heights. The booth travelled through various towns and districts and continues to tour: A survey found that two-thirds of visitors to the booth believe it can contribute to a heightening of risk awareness of floods, whilst 93% of users thought it was a good idea to use a modified phone booth to provide information about flooding. The flood hazard maps themselves were given a positive appraisal by 89% of visitors. Overall, the results provided an improved information base which will help to reduce the negative impacts of future flood events on human beings, the environment and the economy. The technology is now being applied in practice as a cost-effective method for using classified land-cover data throughout Bavaria. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).