We applied the Maximum Entropy model to characterise multi-hazard scenarios in a karst environment, focusing on flood-triggered sinkholes in Val d'Orléans, France. Karst terrains as multi-hazard forming areas, have received little attention in multi-hazard literature. Our study developed a multi-hazard susceptibility map to forecast the spatial distribution of these hazards. The findings improve understanding of hazard interactions and demonstrate the model's utility in multi-hazard analysis.

The 2025 California wildfires revealed persistent gaps between what we know about reducing disaster risk and what communities actually do. Limited awareness, weak resources, misaligned incentives, and complex rules leave people exposed. Similar patterns appear in floods, earthquakes and other disasters worldwide, highlighting the urgent need for stronger institutions, clearer policies, and active community engagement to build fair, practical, and lasting resilience.

The Himalayan landscape is particularly susceptible to extreme events, which interfere with increasing populations and the expansion of settlements and infrastructure. This preface introduces and summarizes the nine papers that are part of the special issue, Estimating and predicting natural hazards and vulnerabilities in the Himalayan region.