CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 The purpose of this Directive is to establish a framework for the assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the reduction of the adverse consequences for human health, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity associated with floods in the Community.
Article 2 For the purpose of this Directive, in addition to the definitions of ‘river’, ‘river basin’, ‘sub-basin’ and ‘river basin district’ as set out in Article 2 of Directive 2000/60/EC, the following definitions shall apply:
1. ‘flood’ means the temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. This shall include floods from rivers, mountain torrents, Mediterranean ephemeral water courses, and floods from the sea in coastal areas, and may exclude floods from sewerage systems;
2. ‘flood risk’ means the combination of the probability of a flood event and of the potential adverse consequences for human health, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity associated with a flood event.
Article 3 1. For the purposes of this Directive Member States shall make use of the arrangements made under Article 3(1), (2), (3), (5) and (6) of Directive 2000/60/EC.
2. However, for the implementation of this Directive, Member States may:
(a) appoint competent authorities different from those identified pursuant to Article 3(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC;
(b) identify certain coastal areas or individual river basins and assign them to a unit of management different from those assigned pursuant to Article 3(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC.
In these cases, Member States shall, by 26 May 2010, communicate to the Commission the information referred to in Annex I to Directive 2000/60/EC. For this purpose, any reference to competent authorities and river basin districts shall be taken as references to the competent authorities and unit of management referred to in this Article. Member States shall inform the Commission of any changes in the information provided pursuant to this paragraph within three months of the change coming into effect.