A Global Synthesis of Flood Impacts: Understanding the Country-level Vulnerability and Causes
The escalating flood impacts on natural resources, built infrastructure, and human society have become a pressing global concern in the 21st century.
The escalating flood impacts on natural resources, built infrastructure, and human society have become a pressing global concern in the 21st century. With uncertainty in precipitation amounts and increasing extreme events, these impacts are projected to intensify and affect many more sectors. Flood impacts vary not only by hazard magnitude and duration but also by exposure and regional adaptive measures. While large floods often dominate the spotlight, it’s crucial to recognize that moderate and higher-frequency floods (e.g., 5- to 25-year floods) also pose a significant risk and expose societal vulnerabilities across demographics. Further, the multi-dimensional nature of flood impacts has also led to a fractionation of how floods are defined across sectors and how their impacts are quantified (e.g., insurance companies are only interested in large events). This lack of mutual understanding of the multi-dimensional aspects of floods could cloud our interpretation of how floods impact society. Hence, it is essential to understand the relationship between flood damages and the underlying causes. To address these issues, this USGS Powell Center Synthesis Working Group will conduct a comprehensive synthesis of how flood impacts vary globally across different demographics and as a function of flood risk exposure and protection levels. We propose to assemble an aggregated global flood impacts database (GFID), from which we will develop a sector-specific definitional framework of floods and synthesize how impacts and risks vary in different sectors using a machine learning-based inferential framework. This workshop provides an unparalleled opportunity to assemble a multidisciplinary group to develop a synthesis of flood damages globally and communicate the findings to high-level decision-makers in governmental organizations.
Principal Investigators
Naresh Devineni (City University of New York)
Stacey Archfield (United States Geological Survey)
The escalating flood impacts on natural resources, built infrastructure, and human society have become a pressing global concern in the 21st century.
The escalating flood impacts on natural resources, built infrastructure, and human society have become a pressing global concern in the 21st century. With uncertainty in precipitation amounts and increasing extreme events, these impacts are projected to intensify and affect many more sectors. Flood impacts vary not only by hazard magnitude and duration but also by exposure and regional adaptive measures. While large floods often dominate the spotlight, it’s crucial to recognize that moderate and higher-frequency floods (e.g., 5- to 25-year floods) also pose a significant risk and expose societal vulnerabilities across demographics. Further, the multi-dimensional nature of flood impacts has also led to a fractionation of how floods are defined across sectors and how their impacts are quantified (e.g., insurance companies are only interested in large events). This lack of mutual understanding of the multi-dimensional aspects of floods could cloud our interpretation of how floods impact society. Hence, it is essential to understand the relationship between flood damages and the underlying causes. To address these issues, this USGS Powell Center Synthesis Working Group will conduct a comprehensive synthesis of how flood impacts vary globally across different demographics and as a function of flood risk exposure and protection levels. We propose to assemble an aggregated global flood impacts database (GFID), from which we will develop a sector-specific definitional framework of floods and synthesize how impacts and risks vary in different sectors using a machine learning-based inferential framework. This workshop provides an unparalleled opportunity to assemble a multidisciplinary group to develop a synthesis of flood damages globally and communicate the findings to high-level decision-makers in governmental organizations.
Principal Investigators
Naresh Devineni (City University of New York)
Stacey Archfield (United States Geological Survey)