Today’s Solutions: November 02, 2024

Climate change is exacerbating flood risks in many parts of the world, but unfortunately, research about the impacts of this climate-related flooding is not evenly conducted around the world. Research on flood-vulnerable communities, and subsequent mitigation funding, tends to center on more affluent regions, leaving marginalized communities unprepared and at higher risk when extreme weather strikes. To address this discrepancy, researchers propose five ways to make flood-risk research more equitable.

Collect the right data

Global flood risk data often overlooks lower income countries and regions. For example, the initial estimation of how many people would be affected by rising sea levels by 2100 was 48 million people, but when researchers took a closer look at developing countries, that figure increased to 190 million people. Some of this is due to gaps in flood reporting in low income areas, but engaging local institutions to seek out flood data from residents themselves can help fill these gaps.

Choose the right metrics

Looking at flood damage from a purely monetary standpoint doesn’t adequately assess risk. For example, after flooding in Mumbai in 2005, middle-income families lost two to three times their monthly income in damages, while lower-income families lost six times their monthly income. Mapping out the societal benefits of flood risk aversion measures is also critical, as it looks at how flood mitigation investments can not only save money but provide overall benefits to entire communities.

Look beyond simply flood risk

Assessing a community’s vulnerability to flooding is the first step for many climate scientists, but there are many other factors that can determine risk beyond environmental and infrastructure conditions. Language barriers to accessing emergency information, complex access to recovery funds, or lack of emergency relief services in low income areas can exacerbate a flooding crisis.

Follow the money 

An easy way to root out inequity is to seek out who benefits financially from the current system. Just as placing industrial factories in low income neighborhoods results in less pushback on the corporations running them, insurance companies, government policies, and relief efforts will neglect lower income neighborhoods to improve optics and their bottom line.

Broaden research 

Assessing current flood risk research demonstrates that there are clear gaps in the tangible data from low income communities, but no problem can be solved until it is quantified. Moving forward, climate risk research should focus on increasing participation from communities that have been historically overlooked.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

This heartwarming Danish ad breaks down the ‘Us vs Them’ narrative

It’s rare that we publish a story about an advertisement, but then again it’s rare that an ad stirs so much emotion within its ...

Read More

NOAHs: Charlotte has a formula for long-lasting affordable housing

We recently shared how empty retail space could be the solution to California’s affordable housing crisis. Across the country in North Carolina, the city ...

Read More

A seat at the table for underrepresented communities

Climate change is already affecting all of us—however, those that bear the brunt of these consequences are predominantly from low-income, marginalized, BIPOC communities. So ...

Read More

Expanding democracy: Michigan opens new doors for formerly incarcerated voters

Malijah Gee's path from incarceration at the age of 17 to imminent freedom reflects the longing for a voice that has been suppressed for 36 years. ...

Read More