Over the past 20 years, estimated damages from the 10 largest natural disasters in Austria amounted to USD 5.4 billion, with flooding accounting for USD 3.5 billion and storms USD 1.3 billion.1 Total economic losses are considerably higher because of indirect effects on economic activity. While there is no clear evidence that trends in natural disasters are linked to increasingly severe weather, economic and population growth in higher-risk areas have contributed to an increase in associated economic losses. Low penetration of private natural hazard insurance means the bulk of these costs accrue to those directly affected and to the public sector (Section 4). In terms of their significance to the economy, agriculture and forestry accounted for about 2% of gross value added in 2011 and tourism contributed 5.5%, while more than half of electricity is generated from hydropower (Chapter 1). As well as these direct effects, climate change is likely to indirectly affect the other, larger economic sectors. Disruption to infrastructure and energy production caused by climate change would have follow-on effects for industry and retailing.