NATURAL HAZARDS IN AUSTRIA - CAUSES, DIST RIBUTION, DAMAGE AND PROTECTION MEASURES

This paper revises and updates my recently published account of geomor phological hazards in Austria (EMBLETON-HAMANN 1997). The original man uscript was published 1997 but the last opportunity which I had to rev ise the text was in 1990. Things like the report on recent catastrophe s and the state of hazard-zone mapping have been updated and other new details have been added. Additional information became available in t he following fields: New research results - distribution and character istics of permafrost in the Eastern Alps; dating of some of the large rockfalls which were supposed to be late glacial but are actually much younger. Improved statistical data - extended figures on soil erosion in agricultural areas; careful data processing on torrent damage reve als that the formerly given figure for death tolls was too high. Renew als in disaster mitigation strategies - legislative changes in 1994 ac commodated ecological sensitivity within the existing decision-making framework in flood protection.