From Science to Practice: Co-Designing Windstorm Hazard & Risk Information for Dutch Portals

Extreme winter windstorms are among the most expensive natural disasters in Europe and pose significant social and economic challenges.  The Netherlands frequently experiences winter storms that result in serious damage and large financial losses, especially for sectors like infrastructure and the built environment.

Climate Adaptation Services (CAS) created and manages national climate risk portals, such as the Klimaateffectatlas (www.klimaateffectatlas.nl) and the newly launched Dutch Climate Risk Portal (www.dutchclimaterisk.nl), which have helped the public in understanding vulnerabilities and risks by providing information on floods, drought, heat, and water-related hazards. However, until 2025, windstorms remained an essential missing risk, limiting urban and financial stakeholders' ability to interpret exposure and losses to these storms.

We studied winter windstorms, creating hazard maps and risk estimates. However, these scientific outputs are not directly applicable or understandable to stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and needs. Therefore, in collaboration with CAS, we co-created a map narrative and risk estimation tool, which was created through an iterative cycle of stakeholder workshops, feedback, and narrative design. The process aimed to make complex risk information accessible, usable, and intuitively understood for a wide range of users, regardless of technical background. The end result is the translation of windstorm science into practice, which is publicly available at the Klimaateffectatlas and the Dutch Climate Risk Portal, while ensuring relevance, clarity, and real-world impact for decision-makers.