In addition to climate change, many other factors are contributing to the frequency and intensity of extreme water events. Wetlands, essential for natural flood control in coastal areas, have decreased by at least 35% globally between 1970 and 2015, according to an outlook from the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Additionally, about 40% of the world’s population lives on or near the coast, increasing their vulnerability to flooding, storm surges, hurricanes, tropical storms, and tsunamis.
Increased flooding has been followed by calls to create “sponge cities,” or cities that’ll allow rainwater to be safely drained from inhabited areas. Because cities are largely covered by impermeable surfaces, such as asphalt and pavement, excess water has no place to go, resulting in infrastructure damage, road closures, loss of homes, and more. To combat this problem, China launched a program to transform cityscapes into rainwater-friendly permeable surfaces. By using porous materials, such as brick, and creating green roofs, retention ponds, and vegetation buffer zones, water has a place to flow that isn’t into homes, offices, or busy city streets. Creating underground spaces for rainwater drainage, storage, and treatment can give floods a way out, leading to substantially less damage.
But property damage isn’t the only risk; because of the global sea-level rise, storms in 2018.
