In the Horizon Europe project coordinated by HUN-REN SZTAKI called B-prepared, technical teams are continuously developing multilingual, interactive smartphone walks and virtual reality simulations. These contain gamified experiences based on various historical disaster events across Europe.
One of the jointly created walks — available in the IM-prepared smartphone app— is titled “In the Footsteps of the 1838 Pest Flood”. It provides a detailed exploration of what happened at the affected locations, and offers practical guidance about correct and incorrect behaviours during flood situations.
This tech solution fills an educational gap: while information about flood defence strategies is traditionally found only in specialist textbooks, it can be difficult to understand without background knowledge. In contrast, this experience-based and interactive approach helps maintain broader public interest and makes practical knowledge more accessible.
Although Japan is highly advanced in digital technology, the idea of using it specifically for disaster preparedness — such as in hands-on training and education — gave the audience much to think about. In Japan, frequent earthquakes require mandatory disaster drills in schools and workplaces. By comparison, Hungary does not have similar compulsory practice drills, despite the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change and the vulnerabilities that it creates.
Original article in Hungarian available here: HUN-REN SZTAKI.
In the Horizon Europe project coordinated by HUN-REN SZTAKI called B-prepared, technical teams are continuously developing multilingual, interactive smartphone walks and virtual reality simulations. These contain gamified experiences based on various historical disaster events across Europe.
One of the jointly created walks — available in the IM-prepared smartphone app— is titled “In the Footsteps of the 1838 Pest Flood”. It provides a detailed exploration of what happened at the affected locations, and offers practical guidance about correct and incorrect behaviours during flood situations.
This tech solution fills an educational gap: while information about flood defence strategies is traditionally found only in specialist textbooks, it can be difficult to understand without background knowledge. In contrast, this experience-based and interactive approach helps maintain broader public interest and makes practical knowledge more accessible.
Although Japan is highly advanced in digital technology, the idea of using it specifically for disaster preparedness — such as in hands-on training and education — gave the audience much to think about. In Japan, frequent earthquakes require mandatory disaster drills in schools and workplaces. By comparison, Hungary does not have similar compulsory practice drills, despite the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change and the vulnerabilities that it creates.
Original article in Hungarian available here: HUN-REN SZTAKI.
At the Hungarian Pavilion of EXPO 2025, Japanese experts and interested visitors could receive detailed information about the events of the Great Ice Flood of Pest in 1838, based on materials jointly developed by the eLearning Department of HUN-REN SZTAKI and the Faculty of Water Sciences of the Ludovika University of Public Service (NKE-VTK).
NKE-VTK had the opportunity to present itself at the World Expo, which took place between 13th April and 13th October on Yumeshima Island (a man-made island) in Osaka. The central theme of EXPO 2025 was “Designing the society of the future for a more sustainable world.” — focusing on creating more resilient communities. Associate Professor, Gábor Keve from NKE-VTK, gave a presentation during the event that focused on this remarkable historic event and its relevance, tying it into broader discussions about water and disaster management.
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