Europe, Western

The countries of western Europe are susceptible to a number of natural disasters, and the area has reported a rising number of extreme and varied weather events since 1960, which some scientists attribute to global climate change. Those conditions have set the stage for disasters of varied proportions. In the summer of 1962–63, England experienced its coldest winter since 1740. In the early 1970s, Finland underwent its greatest heat wave since recordkeeping began in the 1750s. During the mid-1970s, the great European drought resulted in a severe soil moisture deficit that wreaked havoc in the agricultural community and affected people all over Europe. Conditions in Denmark and the Netherlands were made worse during the drought by a major heatwave that occurred simultaneously. The countries of western Europe are also susceptible to ongoing natural disasters that include avalanches in Austria, France, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland; earthquakes in Austria, Iceland, and Italy; flash floods in Switzerland; and flooding in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Other natural disasters involve landslides in Austria, Italy, and Switzerland; rockslides in Norway; mudflows in Italy; and ice flows in Sweden.

Some scientists believe climate change is responsible for disasters that have been occurring all over the world since the late 20th century. In western Europe, forest fires have become a major threat in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Areas of high population density are particularly at risk when wildfires occur. The situation in France and Spain provides particular potential for disaster because both countries are also susceptible to periodic droughts, which increases damage caused by forest fires. Winters can also be hazardous in western Europe, and windstorms are likely to hit France and the United Kingdom during the winter months. Italy, home of the infamous Mount Vesuvius, is the only western European nation subject to volcanic activity. While Vesuvius is not presently considered a threat, Mount Etna in Sicily, and Stromboli, which is located on the Aeolian Islands, are both active. Whenever an eruption seems imminent, locals are ordered to evacuate nearby areas.

In addition to the threat of natural disasters, human-made disasters have become a major concern in all industrialized nations, particularly since the hijackings of commercial airliners in the United States on September 11, 2001, left almost 3,000 dead in four separate terrorist attacks. Although western Europe has escaped terrorist attacks that compare in magnitude to the 9/11 attacks, there have been numerous bombings such as the one in London on July 7, 2005, that killed 37, and the terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 in Scotland in 1988. Intensive industrialization and technology have also opened up new avenues for potential disasters. In western Europe, these disasters have included both oil spills and factory explosions. In 1976, a chemical spill in Seveso, Italy, emitted almost 7,000 lethal doses of dioxin into the air, spreading contamination over 11 miles and causing the evacuation of some 1,000 people. In 1988, a chemical accident in Tour, France, led to the evacuation of 200,000 people. In the days of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), avian flu, and swine flu, [Page 181]western Europe has also had to develop disaster management measures for dealing with potential epidemics and pandemics.

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