Working together on multi-hazard risks in the Alps

Looking back at 2025, the year was not only filled with conferences and outreach activities, but also by hands-on work in the field and close exchange with practitioners. The PARATUS Alps Team carried out targeted field investigations along the Brenner Corridor and organised its third Stakeholder Workshop in Innsbruck, bringing together people who deal with risks in the Alps daily.

On the 22nd October, experts from research institutions, public authorities, infrastructure operators and emergency services met to focus on one of the most important transport routes across the Alps. The discussion centred on the exposure of the Brenner Corridor to a wide range of risks, including landslides, rockfalls, heavy rain, flooding, wildfires and traffic accidents. A key focus was on how these hazards can interact and trigger cascading effects that increase overall risks.

The participants worked with real past events and discussed possible future worst-case scenarios. These discussions led to several outcomes were different groups developed very similar worst-case scenarios, along different sections from the Brenner Corridor. This showed a shared understanding of the most critical risk patterns in the region. The participants also pointed out that some processes, such as slope instability or forest degradation, often develop over many years and should be considered over longer time frames in risk assessments.

Local knowledge played a crucial role in the discussions. Many of the participants stressed that good risk assessment does not rely on data alone, but also on people who understand local conditions, response capacities and past events. The need to involve a broad range of actors, including geologists, infrastructure managers and emergency services, was highlighted as essential. In this context, cross-border cooperation between Austria and Italy was repeatedly mentioned as a key requirement, especially when hazards and their impacts do not stop at national borders.

The workshop also offered the opportunity to test new digital tools, such as the RiskChanges platform and the Disaster Risk Stakeholder Hub. The hands-on sessions showed that these tools have strong potential to support scenario comparisons and future-oriented risk analysis. At the same time, the participants clearly pointed out the limits. Transparent data, clear communication of uncertainties and proper training were identified as necessary conditions for their practical use, especially in real decision-making processes.

We concluded the workshop with the confirmation that its crucial to keep a close collaboration between theory and practice to mitigate and adapt to the complex risks in mountain regions we face today and in the future.