Natural hazards and disasters around the Caspian Sea

At a time, when the five riparian countries have renewed consultation with each other about the future of the Caspian Sea, it is appropriate to propose a state of the art of the potential natural threats to the regional environment. We present a critical review of geological, meteorological-climatological and hydrological hazards and disasters illustrated by many examples from within the Caspian drainage basin. Our work is set in the frame of an analysis of the factors contributing to the scale of the disasters. A brief overview of the mitigation measures in place and their future development is also included underlining the current limited warning systems (especially transboundary) despite improvements. While analysing past disasters is an essential source of information on which to base new mitigation, current and future conditions have poor or even no analogue in the past. Even though it clearly turns out that earthquakes are certainly the most deadly hazard, Caspian Sea level changes are by far causing the largest economical impact and affect the largest area and thus population. This review has also highlighted the need to create a Caspian database of natural hazards and disasters.