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Risk management indicators are used to mitigate the potentially dramatic effects of natural hazards. Local authorities and managers use them in elaborating rescue and urbanism plans, which do not always work, highlighting society's vulnerability in the particular context of global environmental and climate changes. Within this context, the United Nations (Sendai, 2015) advised to construct a series of indicators to better cope with human losses and economic disasters. Actually, the question is whether or not such indicators do constitute successful decision-making tools. In this article, we critically reviewed the recent literature (from 2013 to 2017) using the Web of Science database of Clarivate Analytics to assess how indicators are currently being constructed in risk management, with a focus on risks of inundations, coastal and seismic risks. This task allowed us to discuss the spatial and temporal scale at which indicators of risk management can be applicable, to what extent they should be physically oriented and if they can fit the needs of governance framework. Based on our findings, we suggest further work on a new series of less descriptive, more dynamic and more user-friendly indicators. Finally, we encourage the dire need for continuous work to overcome the misinterpretation of used indicators and how to reduce the communication gap between the scientific community, decision makers, managers and the population.

Abstract. In order to mitigate the potentially dramatic effects of natural hazards, risk management measures are critical. However, the lack of interdisciplinary indicators and adaptable governance frameworks highlights society's vulnerability in the particular context of global environmental and climate change. This interdisciplinary research aimed at identifying reliable risk indicators and societal responses regarding natural hazards and climate change impacts to provide a governance framework for disaster risk reduction. Different societies face diverse risks and do not necessarily have the same level of local awareness of these risk. To explore the diversity of risks, two sites were selected from the Mediterranean basin, one chosen from the south coast (north Morocco) and the other from the north coast (the Italian island of Sardinia). North Morocco, a region of multi-risks, is characterised by high demographic and economic pressures; west Sardinia has remarkable biodiversity of wetlands and is characterised by high environmental and agricultural pressures, which in both cases intensify the vulnerability of the coastal areas. Testing for the local population's preparedness for future financial protection allowed for discussing the importance of risk awareness sessions or activities as an indicator of risk management. The significance of risk awareness sessions is shown in a quantitative part of the study, and its importance is also discussed with local stakeholders in north Morocco in a qualitative part of the study. It is shown that, although risk awareness sessions are recognised as important in risk management, they are not necessarily implemented. Based on these findings, further ideas on a new series of less descriptive, more dynamic and more user-friendly indicators are suggested. How can risk sessions be a dynamic indicator of a resilient society? The obtained results could serve in future governance frameworks for the mitigation of natural hazards in the Mediterranean region and more widely. Finally, the urgent need for continuous work to overcome the communication gap between the scientific community, risk administrators, civil society and the general population is emphasised.