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I was happy and proud to be part of the XXXIInd national meeting organised by the Mexican Society of Geotechnical Engineering in Mexico City where I have been invited to give a keynote lecture. The title of this lecture was " Levee failure scenarios - Complex levee failure scenarios and examples".

Floods continue to devastate communities worldwide, with increasing frequency and intensity. Effective Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) are critical for reducing the impact of natural disasters and advancing climate resilience.

The proceedings for the ICOLD 2025 Congress in Chengdu (China) are now available

The ISSMGE Technical Committee 201 (TC201) on Dikes and Levees is preparing a joint report on the retrofitting and reinforcement of levees. This report aims to advance the international exchange of knowledge on techniques for strengthening levees.

I was happy and proud to be part of the international Dam World 2025 conference in Lisbon (https://dw2025.lnec.pt) where I have been invited to give a lecture about levee failure modes.

An international working group has published a book with the basic principles of emergency management for flood defences. The handbook is more a practical guidance with principles, issues, methods and examples as well in the preparedness as in the response phase. This describes the problems managers face and possible solutions.

The International Handbook on Emergency Management for Flood Defences, set to launch on December 10th, 2024, aims to save lives and minimize flood damage worldwide. Its ultimate goal is to build an international community of flood defence experts, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement. True to its slogan, “Ready for use, but never finished,” it invites users to contribute their experiences and insights for future updates.

The topic of the conference INTERPRAEVENT 2024 is “Natural hazards in a changing climate – How to manage risks under global warming?”. The conference takes place in Vienna 10-13 June 2024.

Levees: an important and visible issue in next ICOLD 2025 congress in Chengdu (China)

Sometimes original solutions are tried to repair a levee in an emergency situation or a breach.