articleNatureAug 3, 2022HYBRID OA

The challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management

HKHeidi KreibichAFAnne F. Van LoonKSKai SchröterPJPhilip J. WardMMMaurizio Mazzoleni

GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · +68 more institutions

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Abstract

Abstract Risk management has reduced vulnerability to floods and droughts globally 1,2 , yet their impacts are still increasing 3 . An improved understanding of the causes of changing impacts is therefore needed, but has been hampered by a lack of empirical data 4,5 . On the basis of a global dataset of 45 pairs of events that occurred within the same area, we show that risk management generally reduces the impacts of floods and droughts but faces difficulties in reducing the impacts of unprecedented events of a magnitude not previously experienced. If the second event was much more hazardous than the first, its impact was almost always higher. This is because management was not designed to deal with such…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Flood risk management
  • Vulnerability (computing)
  • Risk management
  • Flood myth
  • Environmental resource management
  • Environmental planning
  • Hazardous waste
  • Climate change
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Climate action
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