President: Heidi Kreibich
(Emailnh@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Nivedita Sairam
(Email)
ECS Representative: Elisa Grazia Lucia Nobile
(Emailecs-nh@egu.eu)
The Natural Hazards (NH) Division covers all natural hazards that can produce damage to the environment and to the society. Therefore, it is a place where scientists and researchers of various geosciences disciplines meet with sociologists, economists and people responsible for territorial and urban security and planning policies. The aim is to improve the understanding of the evolution of the processes and to discuss new technologies, methods and strategies to mitigate their disastrous effects. The division is structured in eleven subdivisions as follows: Hydro-Meteorological Hazards, Volcanic Hazards, Landslide and Snow Avalanche Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Sea and Ocean Hazards, Remote Sensing, AI, Data Science & Hazards, Wildfire Hazards, Environmental, Biological and Natech Hazards, Natural Hazards and Society, Multi-Hazards and Climate Hazards. Most of the topics that are treated in the NH Division are also treated in other EGU divisions, which is expected due to the intrinsic transversal nature of the NH Division.
The NH Division is one of the historical Divisions of the EGU that was established when EGU was founded and has been and is one of the largest divisions to which many geo-scientists provide steadily contributions of papers and ideas over the years.
As for all EGU Divisions, an Early Career Scientist Award is established also for the NH Division and is given to young researchers who obtain outstanding results in the assessment and mitigation of natural hazard. In addition, the NH Division awards the Plinius Medal that recognises outstanding interdisciplinary natural-hazard research and the Soloviev Medal that recognises outstanding scientific contributions in fundamental research on natural hazards. Both medals are open for all career stages.
Latest posts from the NH blog
When multiple hazards interact and the data doesn’t: The multi-hazard modelling problem nobody wants to talk about
There is a quiet contradiction at the heart of natural hazard science. The regions most exposed to multi-hazard events are precisely the regions where we know the least. The Global South (comprising lower- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean) is disproportionately affected by climate-related natural hazards, yet it is largely underrepresented in climate research and published literature [1]. Flood-exposed populations in the Global South are projected to be nearly five times greater than in the …
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Knowing better, but still losing more: why disaster risk reduction breaks down
The surviving house in Pacific Palisades became one of the most discussed images from the 2025 California wildfires (Fig. 1). What makes it scientifically interesting, though, is not that it survived. It is that many of the features associated with the house’s survival – a more fire-resistant exterior, stronger windows, and details that reduce ember entry – are already well known. This case points to a broader problem explored in our paper: disaster losses remain high, not simply because knowledge …
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Multi-Risk Forecasting: Operational Reality or Scientific Ambition?
Reflections from a workshop on multi-risk impact-based forecasting and warning systems for weather-related hazards. With mounting evidence that hazards rarely occur in isolation, the question is no longer whether multi-risk impact-based forecasting and warning systems are needed, but how to build them [1]. Yet, moving beyond single-hazard thinking towards genuinely multi-hazard and then multi-risk perspectives is far from straightforward. It brings with it a range of challenges – from how we define and model interacting hazards and risks, to how …
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Recent awardees
The 2026 Plinius Medal is awarded to
Amir AghaKouchak for outstanding interdisciplinary contributions to understanding and mitigating Anthropogenic Drought, hydrologic extremes, and compound hazards.
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- 2026
- Sergey Soloviev Medal
The 2026 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to
Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos for promoting innovative research on geohazards that led to a new tsunami intensity scale, improving the analysis of foreshock seismic sequences and for the development of tsunami warning systems.
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- 2026
- Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists
The 2026 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists is awarded to
Nivedita Sairam in recognition of exceptional contributions to systemic modelling of compounding and cascading flood impacts.
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The 2025 Plinius Medal is awarded to
Annegret Henriette Thieken in recognition of outstanding contributions to the understanding and mitigation of flood risk, and the design of adaptation management strategies informed by the involvement of affected communities.
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- 2025
- Sergey Soloviev Medal
The 2025 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to
Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano for creating a novel drought indicator, which has become the benchmark for quantifying droughts, and for pioneering studies in the integration of different drought typologies.
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- 2025
- Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award
The 2025 Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award is awarded to
Clarence Gagnon The role of extratropical cyclones in flooding in Quebec, Canada, from 1991 to 2020
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- 2025
- Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award
The 2025 Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award is awarded to
Julián Montejo Optimal site hazard grid for probabilistic risk assessment: A two-step approach
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- 2025
- Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists
The 2025 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists is awarded to
Mariana Madruga de Brito for outstanding contributions to understanding of the socio-economic impacts and risk mitigation of extreme hydrological events, using natural language processing and social science computational methods.
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Current issue of the EGU newsletter
In our May issue, we look back on another amazing General Assembly in Vienna and online, the EGU awards and medals are now open for nominations, funding is now open for public engagement grants, distinguished lecture speakers, science journalism fellowships, an Early Career Scientist career development workshop and more - and there is a vacancy for an Editorial Manager at the EGU Executive Office in Munich!
All this and much more, in this month's Loupe!
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Current issue of the NH division newsletter
Welcome from the NH Division Team
Dear colleagues and friends,
The EGU General Assembly 2026 is just around the corner, and we are looking forward to welcoming you to Vienna for a week of science, exchange, and connection.
Following last year’s initiative, this issue of the newsletter focuses on the General Assembly, bringing together key activities, highlights, and opportunities to engage with the Natural Hazards community. Alongside this, you will also find updates on ongoing initiatives and ways to stay involved beyond the conference.
We hope this issue helps you navigate the week ahead and makes you feel part of the community, whether you are new or a long-time member. And see you all the Division meeting for Natural Hazards (NH) on Thu, 07 May, 12:45–13:45 (CEST) - Room F2.
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