After the first months of dedicated work developing and improving products for flood impact forecasting on a European scale, the EDERA project entered a new phase. In August 2023, a 15-month real-time demonstration was launched over Europe and in two pilot sites, with the participation of end users: one in Spain and Portugal, and another in Finland.
The demonstration period, set to continue until the end of October 2024, was designed to test the effectiveness of these tools in the Early Warning Systems and decision-making protocols used by Civil Protection Authorities (CPAs) across Europe.
A key focus of the demonstration was analyzing the coordination between CPAs at various levels —local, regional, and national— particularly during cross-border flood events. From the outset, end users involved in emergency management engaged in the pilot sites and contributed to evaluating the forecasts provided by the new tools.
The real-time flood impact forecasts were evaluated for their accuracy in identifying areas most at risk of severe flood damage. Additionally, the effectiveness of these forecasts in supporting emergency management was tested, particularly when integrated into local Early Warning System platforms. The goal was to ensure that the information was communicated promptly and efficiently, aiding swift decision-making in crisis situations.
The EDERA partners leading the two pilot sites were the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Finnish pilot site) and the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies of Spain, the Environment and Water Agency of Andalusia, and the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection of Portugal (Spain-Portugal pilot site). In both cases, the role of various end users participating as stakeholders of the project was crucial in evaluating the project's developments.