LESSONS OF PAST EUROPEAN CATASTROPHES AND DISASTERS

Abstract

The global response to the contemporary security challenge of disasters is the adoption of the principle of “build it better” within international documents, which advocates the strengthening of preventative measures and the development of resilience of communities, societies and states in relation to the consequences of disasters. Fear of an increase the numbers of catastrophes / disasters is the reason that more attention is paid to the lessons of not only recent events, but also historical disasters that hit the European continent, in order to provide an adequate response today. The European tsunami about eight thousand years ago and the Little Ice Age at the end of the 13^th and beginning of the 14^th century brought us the lessons of necessity of adaptation and actions to deal with the effects of climate change. The hurricane of 1674, which passed through Northwestern Europe, brought with it social and architectural consequences which are still felt in the Netherlands today in the fields of project design and construction, with the intention being to make constructions robust enough to withstand similar hurricanes. The Great Storm of 1703 led to the establishment of meteorological practices that we still employ today. The principle “build it better” includes both learning from past lessons and also awareness of the need to address social relations, in particular gender inequalities.