Our Flooded Future Looms [Slide Show]
One of the greatest dangers cities face from continuing climate change stems from increasingly severe floods
![Our Flooded Future Looms [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/3FB9FBD4-DF27-4AE8-82B8489428FAD892.jpg?w=590&h=393)
Our Flooded Future Looms [Slide Show]
- THAMES FLOOD BARRIER Cities are starting to wake up to the threat from increased flooding due to climate change. Mayors and urban managers often have a keener awareness than national leaders of the potential effects of global warming. The Thames Flood Barrier was erected starting in 1974 to protect London, which is vulnerable to storm surges from the Atlantic. Damien Moore
- MINOT, N.D., CLEANUP, 2011 Floods can leave behind more than just physical damage. People who are at greater risk of developing mental health problems after a flood include women and individuals who are poor, elderly, have chronic health problems, did not go to college or do not have many friends or strong family ties, according to recent research. Mental health officials in North Dakota, which has suffered several major floods in recent years, stress the importance of getting enough rest, developing routines and maintaining relationships (video download) with others in reestablishing order after a flood. Patsy Lynch/FEMA
- NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY FLOOD, 2008 Belowground infrastructure is especially vulnerable even when water levels on the surface are not especially high. For example, essential elements of a subway system, such as motors, relays, resistors, pumps and transformers, often must be repaired or replaced after a flood. Guyermo
- LOUISIANA FLOOD, 2008 Fast-moving floods often demand that residents make snap decisions—such as whether or not to leave a pet or possessions behind—which can mean the difference between a successful exit or a failed, and possibly fatal, one. Fortunately in this case, Peanut and friends survived the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. U.S. Army photo by Rebekah L. Malone
- TEXAS FLOOD, 2008 A flood's massive volume of liquid and debris wreaks havoc on infrastructure, often leaving safe drinking water and ice in short supply. The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was particularly active with 16 named storms, including eight hurricanes. US Army photo by First Sgt. Lek Mateo
- QUEENSLAND FLOOD, 2011 Currently about 38.5 million people living in cities around the world are at risk of suffering an extremely severe flood with water levels at the 100-year mark. By the 2070s, the number of urban dwellers affected by such severe floods could more than triple to around 150 million people, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. About three quarters of the state of Queensland in Australia were declared a disaster area during massive floods in late 2010 and early 2011. Thousands of Australians, included these residents from the area west of Brisbane were forced to flee their homes in what the premier of Queensland called "the worst natural disaster in our history." Australian Defence Force/PO Damian Pawlenko/(C)Commonwealth of Australia
- NORTH DAKOTA FLOOD, 2011 Residents of industrialized countries are not immune to flood damage. Preliminary estimates from the U.S. Department of Commerce put the damage from flooding in the Midwest during the spring of 2011 between $2 billion and $4 billion. The springtime floods were just one of eight billion-dollar weather disasters that occurred in the first half of 2011, which totaled nearly $32 billion—five times the U.S.'s typical price tag for six months of weather-related events. U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jesse Lopez
