UNISDR CAMPAIGN - MAKING CITIES RESILIENT In 2010 Karlstad Municipality became the first Swedish city to join In 2010 the City of Karlstad was the first Swedish city to join UNISDR’s internatio- nal campaign Make Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready. Working with the campaign has given us the opportunity to enhance disaster risk reduction work throughout the municipality. The City of Karlstad has had the oppor- tunity to speak at conferences within the UNISDR – Make Cities Resilient campaign, and has participated in city-to-city learning exchanges with Prague (Czech Republic) , Pori (Finland) and London/Hull/York (Great Britain). Karlstad was one of the original cites that started a national network for the campaign to share experiences and knowledge. The national network has now become a scandinavian network. The exchange of knowledge between cities and governments is an important aspect of the disaster risk reduction work. We believe that the campaign is an important part of future work in this field.

The City of Karlstad is working together with The Swedish Civil and Con- tingencies Agency (MSB) in different areas; such as the EU Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks and the implementation of HFA (Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of FLOOD RISK Nations and Communities to Disasters). Together with the MSB we have together received the international Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduc- tion - Certificate of Merit in 2013. MANAGEMENT CITY OF KARLSTAD

Karlstad Municipality Technical Services and Property Management Department SE-651 84 Karlstad, Sweden Phone: +46 54 540 00 00. E-mail: [email protected]. www.karlstad.se PRIORITIZED AREA Disaster risk reduction is a prioritized area in the city. Every employee is taken a course in climate change. There is a Crises Management Commit- tee where the Municipality Director together with the Director of Rescue Services is leading the work when the city is flooded. City of Karlstad has increased the budget for flood risk management to prioritize the adaptation to a changed climate.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE The Technical Service and Property Management Department is working on many levels to secure infrastructure. The sewage system is improved with check valves and open storm water systems with infiltration dams. An inventory of important roads have been done with GIS, showing whats roads are flooded and and what alternative roads can be used. Elevated bridges and new culverts are part of the investments. There are also several technical projects for embankments planned, to protect critical infrastructure like the City of Karlstad is located on the larges delta in northern Europe, where the river General Hospital and important roads. The city has also developed a con- Klarälven flows into Lake Vänern. It´s geographical location has lead to a unique tingency plan for flooding that shows which critical infrastructure (hospitals, city design that is attractive to both citizens and tourists. The location of the city electrical systems, IT) is to be prioritized during a flood and what is to be also contributes to significant risk of flooding from both high flows in the river done to secure it. The contingency plan involves many different stakeholders and high water levels in Vänern. The Swedish Civil and Contingencies Agency has from both the municipality and from civil society. Climate adaptation measu- identified Karlstad as the city in Sweden with the largest number of people likely to res and environmental management are considered at all times to be able to be affected by a 100-year flood, according to the EU Flood Directive. The city has preserve the city´s current form and development. also had problems with ice jams. However, flooding from Klarälven and Vänern is not the only risk the city is facing, it also must meet the challenges of adapting to a changing climate.

FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN In 2007 Karlstad began to develop a strategy to address flood risk problems in the municipality. At that time a flood risk management coordinator was employed. The strategy resulted in a Flood Risk Management Plan which was completed and embraced by the City Council in 2010. The management plan consists of information about climate change and how it will affect the city of Karlstad, responsibilities on local, regional and national level, guidelines to use in urban planning process and adaptation measures (technical, operatio- nal, planning and communication) to be done. The management plan is now reflected in all the municipal strategic documents.