EU Floods Directive comes into force

Information from the Defra website:
The European Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks (2007/60/EC of 23 October 2007) (the Floods Directive) is designed to help Member States prevent and limit floods and their damaging effects on human health, the environment, infrastructure and property. The Floods Directive came into force on 26 November, 2007 and Member States have 2 years in which to transpose the Directive into domestic law.

There is no existing Community legislation in the field of flood risk management. In putting the case for action, the Commission points to the large numbers of people affected by flooding within the Community in recent years, the high level of actual and prospective economic damage, and the severe environmental consequences that can arise from flooding, for example when waste water treatment plants or factories holding quantities of toxic chemicals are flooded (an aspect that is in fact addressed by the Water Framework Directive).