The 100-Year Series of Weather-Related Fatalities in the Czech Republic: Interactions of Climate, Environment, and Society

0573105 - ÚVGZ 2024 RIV CH eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Brázdil, Rudolf - Chromá, Kateřina - Dolák, Lukáš - Zahradníček, Pavel - Řehoř, Jan - Dobrovolný, Petr - Řezníčková, L.
The 100-Year Series of Weather-Related Fatalities in the Czech Republic: Interactions of Climate, Environment, and Society.
Water. Roč. 15, č. 10 (2023), č. článku 1965. E-ISSN 2073-4441
Grant CEP: GA MŠMT(CZ) EF16_019/0000797
Výzkumná infrastruktura: CzeCOS IV - 90248
Institucionální podpora: RVO:86652079
Klíčová slova: weather-related fatality * fatality characteristics * documentary data * flood * windstorm * convective storm * snow * glaze ice * frost * fog * inclement weather * Czech Republic
Obor OECD: Meteorology and atmospheric sciences
Impakt faktor: 3.4, rok: 2022
Způsob publikování: Open access
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/10/1965

The paper investigates weather-related fatalities over the territory of the Czech Republic in the 100-year period from 1921 to 2020. The unique database, created from documentary evidence (particularly newspapers), includes, for each deadly event, information about the weather event, the fatality itself, and related circumstances. A total of 2729 fatalities were detected during the 100-year period and were associated with various weather categories including frost (38%), convective storms (19%), floods (17%), fog (11%), snow and glaze ice (8%), windstorms (5%), and other inclement weather (2%). A detailed analysis was performed for each individual category. Fatalities occurred throughout the country, with a main maximum in winter (January) and a secondary maximum in summer (July), corresponding to the occurrence of extreme weather. Deaths were mainly interpreted as direct, caused by freezing to death/hypothermia or drowning, and occurred in the afternoon and at night in open countryside or on rivers and water bodies. Males outnumbered females, and adults outnumbered children and the elderly. Hazardous behavior was more frequent than non-hazardous behavior among victims. The information on fatalities and the structure of their characteristics strongly reflects historical milestones of the country, political and socioeconomic changes, as well as changes in lifestyle. Although important weather effects were observed on the deadliest events, the character of the data did not allow for clear evidence of the effects of long-term climate variability.
Trvalý link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0343604