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Impact of Water Level Rise on Urban Infrastructures: Washington, DC, and Shanghai as Case Studies
Author(s) -
Zhang Yanjie,
Ayyub Bilal M.,
Zhang Dongming,
Huang Hongwei,
Saadat Yalda
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/risa.13390
Subject(s) - storm surge , flooding (psychology) , coastal flood , environmental science , typhoon , storm , vulnerability (computing) , vulnerability assessment , emergency management , megacity , climate change , resilience (materials science) , geography , environmental resource management , sea level rise , meteorology , psychological resilience , oceanography , geology , computer security , economy , law , psychotherapist , computer science , psychology , political science , thermodynamics , physics , economics
The observed global sea level rise owing to climate change, coupled with the potential increase in extreme storms, requires a reexamination of existing infrastructural planning, construction, and management practices. Storm surge shows the effects of rising sea levels. The recent super storms that hit the United States (e.g., Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Sandy in 2012, Harvey and Maria in 2017) and China (e.g., Typhoon Haiyan in 2010) inflicted serious loss of life and property. Water level rise (WLR) of local coastal areas is a combination of sea level rise, storm surge, precipitation, and local land subsidence. Quantitative assessments of the impact of WLR include scenario identification, consequence assessment, vulnerability and flooding assessment, and risk management using inventory of assets from coastal areas, particularly population centers, to manage flooding risk and to enhance infrastructure resilience of coastal cities. This article discusses the impact of WLR on urban infrastructures with case studies of Washington, DC, and Shanghai. Based on the flooding risk analysis under possible scenarios, the property loss for Washington, DC, was evaluated, and the impact on the metro system of Shanghai was examined.