Floodplains are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet – they are biodiversity hotspots. That’s in large part due to periodic flooding between different parts of a river-floodplain system.
Flood-related stress can have a negative impact on pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. But our research found there are many strategies that can limit the harm.
Today’s risks will be tomorrow’s normal. That means tough decisions have to be made about human settlements having to retreat from areas most at risk, whether from floods or bushfires.
Etching of the 1867 flood in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley, depicting the Eather family.
illustrated Sydney News/author provided
Evacuation and relief centres are often the first place disaster-affected people go, and should provide a minimum standard of living and care. But this standard is not always met.
It’s not enough to continue to build cities and towns based on business-as-usual planning principles. We need to plan and design our urban spaces around the idea that flooding is inevitable.
The expert advice is to never drive, walk, or ride through flood waters. Unfortunately, however, this is advice often not heeded. Research on psychology and floods reveals clues as to why.
Unless you’ve lived through it, it’s hard to understand how stressful a catastrophic flood can be - both in the moment and long after the event. That’s especially true for vulnerable populations.
We can design parks, open space and public infrastructure to hold excess water when flood strikes. That means better control of where floodwater ends up, reducing the risk to lives and property.
Cultures worldwide are awash with tales of great floods. What can they tell us about the reality of a wetter world?
Gabrielle Burns-Smith erects a road closed sign Lymm, Cheshire, after Storm Christoph caused widespread flooding in 2021.
Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA Images
Clear messaging is crucial when dealing with multiple disasters.
In a year tied for the warmest on record globally, the U.S. was hit with costly hurricanes, wildfires, storms and drought.
AP Photo/Noah Berger and Gerald Herbert
NOAA released its list of climate and weather disasters that cost the nation more than $1 billion each. Like many climate and weather events this past year, it shattered the record.
Mosquitoes love the wetter weather La Niña brings to some parts of Australia. But will we see more mosquito-borne disease?
A view of flooded farmland on the riverbank and swelling Blue Nile as its water level rises after heavy rainfall in Khartoum, Sudan
Photo by Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Damage to septic tanks is one of the major health hazards people face when they return to their bushfire-affected homes. It was simply dumb luck a disease outbreak didn’t happen last summer.
A car that was washed away floats close to the banks of the Jukskei River in Alexandra Township after floodwaters ravaged the area on November 10, 2016.
Gulshan Khan/AFP via Getty Images