The Economical Consequences of Floods and Landslides

It is very often not appreciated by the academic community that those affected by floods and landslides, or by other natural perils, are not or at least primarily not interested in academic research and the results produced by it but by the consequences of such disasters for them and in preventive steps. As the money spent by research is produced by the taxpayers and as one of the main aims of research in such fields should be a pragmatic service to the public, it is felt that more attention should be paid to such issues.