RISCURI ŞI CATASTROFE, NR. XV, VOL. 18, NR. 1/2016 7 DEVELOPING SOFT MEASURES FOR FLOOD RISK MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION IN ROMANIA: PUBLIC INFORMING AND AWARENESS LILIANA ZAHARIA 1 , G. IOANA-TOROIMAC 1 ABSTRACT. – Developing soft measures for flood risk mitigation and adaptation in Romania: public informing and awareness. This paper highlights, firstly, some general aspects concerning flood risk adaptation measures, especially those aiming public informing/education and awareness. Secondly, the paper is focused on Romania and presents: the legislative and action general framework on climate change adaptation and flood risk management; potential measures for flood risk mitigation and adaptation, with special focus on public informing/ communication and education actions; institutions and tools for public informing on flood risk in Romania. Finally, some examples of actions aiming flood risk informing/education and awareness at local scale (Tecuci City in Galaţi County, and the communes of Vulturu and Năneşti in Vrancea County) are presented. Key words: flood risk, adaptation, soft measures, public informing, awareness, Romania. 1. INTRODUCTION Disaster risk prevention and reduction is crucial to enhance the economic, social, health and cultural resilience of persons, communities, countries, as well as of the environment (UNISDR, 2015a). In the context of climate change, where floods are expected to be more frequent and intense (IPCC, 2014a), flood risk mitigation is a major concern of water policies and sustainable development strategies at different spatial scales (from European Union - EU, to national, regional and local scale). Managing the climate change related risks, in general, and flood risk, in particular, requires among, other things, adaptation decisions and strategies with implications for future generations, economies, and environments (IPCC, 2014b). This paper aims to highlight the importance of the soft (non-structural) flood risk mitigation and adaptation measures in flood risk management. It presents the 1 University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, 010041, sector 1, Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: zaharialili@hotmail.com 1 University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, 010041, sector 1, Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: gabriela.toroimac@geo.unibuc.ro