A study suggests that hydrology and race influence responses to flood risk in the United States. Global costs of river flooding are projected to exceed $500 billion by the middle of this century. Perceptions of and strategies for mitigating flood risk vary within and across communities and reflect complex interactions between hydrologic and socioeconomic factors. James Knighton and colleagues applied a sociohydrological model to 50 US metropolitan areas to identify patterns in community responses to flood risk. The authors calibrated the model using local data on flood insurance claims and policies, population density, and peak streamflow. Two main behavior types emerged: "risk-enduring" cities, which exhibit low flooding defenses and long memories of past floods, and "risk-averse" cities, which feature high flooding defenses but short memories of past floods. Risk-enduring cities tended to have more predictable local streamflow and smaller dams than risk-averse cities. Risk-enduring cities also tended to have a lower proportion of White residents than risk-averse cities. The results suggest that community responses to flood risk may reflect awareness of local hydrologic conditions. However, they may also reflect systemic racial inequity in flood exposure and resilience in the United States, according to the authors.
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Article #20-16839:
"Flood risk behaviors of United States riverine metropolitan areas are driven by local hydrology and shaped by race," by James Knighton, Kelly Hondula, Cielo Sharkus, Christian Guzman, and Rebecca Elliott.
MEDIA CONTACT:
James Knighton,
University of Connecticut,
Storrs, CT;
tel: 215-317-0980;
email: <james.knighton@uconn.edu>