The European Alps have a long tradition of management of natural hazard risks, above all with respect to hazard mitigation strategies. However, these strategies need to change in order to tailor existing management options to the processes of global change in mountain regions; this change is also required by the EU Floods Directive. The concept of risk is increasingly used in order to supplement hazard assessment with the computation of exposure and vulnerability. To provide a sustainable and integrated management of hazardinduced risk, three main components must be addressed: risk analysis, risk evaluation and the combination of risk reduction measures. In the European Alps, risk analysis including hazard, exposure and vulnerability analysis is now a standard, but – due to the high numbers of methods – it is still challenged by comparability. Risk evaluation deals with acceptable risks for society, but current assessment frameworks are often based on hazard assessment and not on risk assessment, or the underlying thresholds are set by experts. Risk management for risk reduction includes prevention, preparedness and recovery to prevent and reduce possible future losses.