In recent years, losses due to torrential flooding have been increasing in the Eastern European Alps, with effects of climate change and settlement growth being postulated root causes. In the context of flood mitigation, however, it remains unclear to which degree loss dynamics can be attributed to these causes. We addressed this question based on a record of approximately 12,000 events covering the period between 1962 and 2017, a database containing roughly 120,000 mitigation structures, an inventory of the building stock and 15 climate indices related to hazard triggering conditions. While the indices of triggering precipitation and the number of exposed buildings increased steadily, frequency, magnitude and seasonality of damage-inducing torrential flooding did not show clear trends. This contradiction was attributed to a compensatory effect of the increasing number of technical mitigation structures. Maintaining these structures is of paramount importance to counteract future effects of climate change on the magnitude and frequency of events and the increasing demand for land development in hazard-prone areas.

近年来，东欧阿尔卑斯山洪灾造成的损失不断增加，气候变化和定居点增长的影响被认为是根本原因。然而，在减轻洪灾的背景下，仍不清楚将损失动态归因于这些原因的程度。我们基于1962年至2017年期间约12,000个事件的记录，一个包含约120,000个缓解结构的数据库，建筑存量清单和与危害触发条件有关的15个气候指数的基础上解决了这个问题。虽然引发降水的指数和裸露建筑物的数量稳步增加，但造成洪灾的洪灾的频率，幅度和季节却没有明显的趋势。这种矛盾归因于越来越多的技术缓解结构的补偿作用。维持这些结构对于抵消气候变化对事件的严重性和频率以及对易灾地区土地开发的需求不断增加的未来影响至关重要。