Shifting the Flood Paradigm
[Music]
i was in a village in samoa
in the south pacific and i don’t
remember when the rain started
just that it didn’t stop for more than a
month 24 hours a day
it just kept coming the rivers rose and
soon
no one or nothing could come in or out
we were just there in the flood
have you or a loved one ever been
affected by flooding
think about it
chances are based on statistics you or
someone you know
has been impacted by flooding
there’s a powerless feeling in a flood
you can’t stop the rivers from rising
but for the first time we are in a place
where we can shift the power paradigm
of flooding to the world water resources
the world resource institute flooding is
the most globally impactful
of all natural disasters taking between
four to five thousand lives every year
in the united states 14.7 million
properties homes businesses are at
substantial risk of flooding
costing billions in economic losses
every year
in fact in 2010 we spent 176
billion dollars on global flood recovery
which is equivalent to roughly 20 of the
grocery bill
for every family in the u.s for one year
by 2030
that’ll be 77 of the grocery bill for a
year
by 2050 that’ll be equal to one year and
85 percent of the next
and by 2080 we’re projected
to spend over four trillion dollars on
global flood recovery
which is roughly equivalent to four and
a half years of groceries
for every family in the u.s wow
that’s a lot of money now i’m talking in
terms of groceries because that’s
something i can wrap my head around
i know how much i spend on food but that
money could go to anything
to the national debt healthcare
education back to the citizens you can
do a lot
with four trillion dollars
now we’re pretty good in knowing just
how bad a flood will be
and we’re pretty good at knowing when
they’re going to happen we’ve been
looking to solve flooding since our
earliest civilizations since
noah we’ve been looking for a flood
workaround so why is this still
such a huge problem
because we love water we need it we
always have to have it
we build our cities next to oceans and
rivers
because being next to this critical
resource makes our lives easier
in fact today most of the world lives in
coastal areas
and more and more of the world lives in
urban zones
students and entrepreneurs seeking
bright futures
are drawn to exciting opportunities in
cities
in 2008 for the first time half the
world’s population
was urban by the time my little girls
are my age more than 70 percent
of the world’s population will be urban
that’s a rapid growth
and as cities rapidly grow they alter
their landscape
resulting in more storm water runoff a
decrease in water quality and ultimately
greater impacts due to floods
we seek to allay this through storm
water and flood plain management
but in our dynamic and constantly
involving urban environments
the numbers suggest our traditional
approaches
just aren’t enough unfortunately those
hurt the worst
are the most vulnerable low-income
unsanctioned housing is often located in
areas of an elevated flood risk
families and communities without the
ability to prevent
and combat the economic upheaval
associated with flooding
are those hurt the worst and are hurt
repetitively
this is a global challenge
and i saw this stranded in the village
of samoa where those same floodwaters
destroyed crops flooded markets
and shut down businesses i took this
picture in vanuatu
where this recently washed out bridge
had previously connected communities to
their farms and schools
living in thailand and working in
vietnam and cambodia
seasonal urban flooding made daily
activities like commuting
not only a challenge but risky
flood water is not clean this was
reinforced this summer when
63 million people in southeast asia were
affected by floods
i saw this working in afghanistan where
the dry
climate is perfect for flash floods
lack of resilience rapid urban growth
and flood frequency have unfortunately
made afghanistan one of the world’s
leaders in deaths per capita
due to flooding on top of dealing with
decades of war
this was reinforced in the spring and
summer of 2020
when thousands lost their homes and
hundreds lost their lives
and flooding in afghanistan and i saw
this working in projects in kenya
sierra leone paraguay haiti
but we see this in our own home towns we
see this in philadelphia
when we drive around after a storm or
when we cross lancaster avenue near
villanova seen this when the mississippi
river floods
we’ve seen this in hurricanes like
harvey katrina and sandy we saw this
this summer
in isaiah and we will see this again
this is a challenge that unites us and
these are challenging times
but they’re interesting times sir isaac
newton said if i’ve seen further
it’s because i’ve stood on the shoulder
of giants
and from the shoulders of giants we can
see the world
like we’ve never seen it before
this is an image taken by the astronauts
of apollo 17.
they were some of the first to see our
whole earth
our beautiful lonely planet had just
been revealed
by 2029 57
000 satellites will orbit our planet
generating hundreds of terabytes of
earth data every single day
we’re alive in the data revolution
data’s being generated
constantly not only through satellites
but gauges and sensors through our own
actions just using our cell phones
scientists and engineers are learning
how to harness this information
to gain novel insights into how floods
work
and illuminate new solutions
sitting here at villanova working with a
nature conservancy in catholic relief
services
we can predict exactly which buildings
in freetown sierra leone will flood
without ever stepping foot in freetown
we can predict ideal locations for
infrastructure in haiti
and kenya and apply artificial
intelligence
to know where a river will cross its
banks in utah
from our desk this is being coupled with
advancements in infrastructure
in recent decades engineers have
realized new ways
to harness storm water green storm water
infrastructure
like the one shown here mitigates the
flood pulse while cleaning storm water
using tools from the soil and plants
infiltration evaporation and
transpiration
this has been shown to be effective and
efficient in meeting federal
water regulations and is surprisingly
cost effective too
although this is a fairly new type of
infrastructure it’s
revolutionizing the urban landscape in
philadelphia
in just 10 years thousands of green
storm water systems have been
implemented
taking the city from being one of the
worst offenders of water quality
to a global leader and they’re not alone
similar programs exist in new york city
portland detroit and many many
others and the success of these programs
has fueled global popularity
but the benefits aren’t just limited to
storm water
but extend to community health and
well-being
environmental restoration and flood
plain management
so these are exciting times these are
times of hope
times that we have the potential to
stand up to the challenge of flooding
and here’s the great part we can all be
part of meeting that challenge this is
an
issue of civil infrastructure and civil
infrastructure
is meant to serve civil societies
which includes all of us it includes
everyone so how does one get involved
number one use your voice
we need to be investing in solutions the
world resource institute showed that for
every one dollar spent
on flood protection infrastructure in
india it resulted in 248
of avoided damages similar results were
shown
in other countries if we can invest
in mitigation we can assuage the cost of
flood recovery
ultimately reducing the cost of losses
due to flooding
in the united states where much of our
infrastructure is aging
it needs to be replaced or updated but
civil infrastructure is not one size
fits all
it has to meet the needs of the
community that it serves
so what are the needs of your community
how’s flooding impacted you
speak up let your representatives know
take part in public hearings
and be part of finding the solution for
your community
number two use your actions
imagine a raindrop falls on your roof
as it rolls over your sidewalk or your
yard what does it take with it
the storm water coming from your home or
your business or your community
impacts the rivers and the streams that
it drains into
so make your property or your community
part of the solution
volunteer to help maintain green storm
water infrastructure
or create and invest in green storm
water infrastructure
at your home or your business
this is an example from villanova i’ve
circled it in red
because it’s not that obvious this isn’t
a big obtrusive piece of infrastructure
this is an obtainable feasible solution
and number three innovate stage is set
developments and data computational
power water resource management
have opened the door for advancement
but this isn’t just an issue for
engineering this includes
all of us arts education biology
chemistry urban planning public health
governance business all of us
so what’s your solution what’s your
innovation
what are the next steps
flooding has been an issue that we’ve
faced since our earliest societies
but for the first time we have the
potential
for which we can find solutions
the damages the costs the lives lost we
can change that
in our yards and our communities in our
cities with our voices and our actions
and our innovations
we can find solutions and we can shift
the power paradigm
of flooding thank you