Introduction

Abstract

Every year extreme events occur which are costly in terms of human life and damage to infrastructure. Even in a stable climate, these events will occur as the tails of the normal distribution of events which characterise the climate of a place – climate variability. People and ecosystems will be partially adapted to such events but, especially in the case of severe events of great rarity, damage will ensue. The extent of this damage is a measure of the extent to which adaptation, whether planned or autonomous, has been successfully undertaken. Following the event, there will generally be an appraisal of the impact, the success or otherwise of the emergency management and the relative costs a..