**7. Conclusions**

The present report introduces a thorough study on the flood risk assessment performed in the Historic City Center of Aveiro (Portugal). The study was carried out applying a methodology elaborated by Miranda and Ferreira in 2019 [1], which has been proved to be a useful tool to evaluate the flood vulnerability of built aggregates, with a specific focus on areas distinguished by their heritage value.

A total of about 500 buildings were assessed, including 8 listed heritage assets of local interest. The data collection consisted of an extensive field survey and photographic documentation and was complemented by a remote survey. The spreadsheets of the raw data were post-processed to obtain the vulnerability results, which were defined by combining the exposure component (based on wall orientation) and the sensitivity component (based on heritage status, age, number of stories, condition, and material of buildings). During this process, it was observed that the most sensitive buildings were the ones located along the length of the canals. It is interesting to note that the most sensitive buildings were also revealed to be the most exposed ones.

Following this, the hazard scenario defined for the 20- and 100-year flood was deployed in order to obtain the outputs for flood extent, depth, and velocity. The results that were obtained from the hazard-level classification were deemed as satisfactory, portraying a low level of danger. In the end, the above outputs allowed to perform the final flood risk analysis by merging the hazard scenario with the previously assessed flood vulnerability and thus to acquire an insight on the impact of a future flooding event on the city center. It was concluded that the flood risk for the inspected area remains relatively low, with only 10% of the buildings presenting a high risk in the next decades. The high-risk buildings are located closer to the canal, thus within the identified flood-prone area, and also along one of the main streets of the city center.

Moreover, a comparison was conducted with a portion of the Historic City Center of Guimarães, where a similar approach for the assessment of flood risk was performed. Irrespective of the differences between the two case studies, the influence of the exposure indicator on the vulnerability index of the assets was confirmed.

Finally, it is stressed that the methodology allowed a prompt assessment of the flood risk. Nonetheless, uncertainties arose in the estimation of some parameters, calling for further calibration of the levels and investigations in the study area. Upon this more detailed analysis, the results of the flood risk assessment will be integrated into a decision-making framework for risk mitigation and improvement of the city's resilience.
