Five feet high and rising : cities and flooding in the 21st century

摘要: Urban flooding is an increasingly important issue. Disaster statistics appear to show flood events are becoming more frequent, with medium-scale increasing fastest. The impact of driven by a combination natural and human-induced factors. As recent in Pakistan, Brazil, Sri Lanka Australia show, floods can occur widespread locations sometimes overwhelm even the best prepared countries cities. There known tested measures for urban risk management, typically classified as structural or engineered measures, non-structural, management techniques. A form integrated approach most likely be successful reducing risk. In short term developing particular, factors affecting exposure vulnerability at fastest rate urbanization puts people assets longer term, however, climate scenarios one drivers future changes Due large uncertainties projections change, adaptation changing needs flexible wide range able cope potentially sea level, rainfall intensity snowmelt. Climate uncertainty budgetary, institutional practical constraints lead combining non-structural arguably, move away from what over-reliance on hard-engineered defenses toward adaptable incremental solutions.