Are we truly aware and alert to the catastrophic events that can come our way? We all hear about the floods occurring throughout the world. It mostly happens in faraway places and perception is that it does not affect us directly. In fact, between 1998 and 2009, Europe suffered over 213 major floods causing 1126 deaths and at least €50.000 billion in insured economic losses.

Keeping in mind that trends in sea level rise caused by climate change are increasingly putting our coasts at risk of flooding and erosion, one of the key challenges facing us is to find a means by which to protect our coastal environments and safeguard their various assets.

To promote social awareness towards the risks of flooding and the necessity of improving coastal resilience, informative booklets are prepared and will be distributed amongst different stakeholders and to the general public. As people are more likely to feel connected when they are faced with examples close to their homes, this edition of the THESEUS coastal booklet also focuses on flooding related challenges at two sites in Europe: the South Devon coastline (Southwest-Britain) and the port town Cesenatico at the Northern Adriatic coast of Italy. To optimally reach the people living at these sites, the booklets are written in English and Italian and will be distributed in schools, at local fora and during public events.