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The occurrence of devastating floods in the British uplands during the first two decades of the twenty-first century poses two key questions: (1) are recent events unprecedented in terms of their frequency and magnitude; and (2) is climate and/or land-use change driving the apparent upturn in flooding? Conventional methods of analysing instrumental flow records cannot answer these questions because upland catchments are usually ungauged, and where records do exist they rarely provide more than 30-40 years of data. In this paper we analyse all lichen-dated upland flood records in the United Kingdom (UK) to establish the longer-term context and causes of recent severe flooding. Our new analysis of torrential sedimentary deposits shows that twenty-first century floods are not unprecedented in terms of both their frequency (they were more frequent before 1960) and magnitude (the biggest events occurred during the seventeenth-nineteenth centuries). However, in some areas recent floods have either equalled or exceeded the largest historical events. The majority of recent floods have been triggered by torrential summer downpours related to a marked negative phase of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) between 2007 and 2012. It is of concern that historical data suggests there is far more capacity in the North Atlantic climate system to produce wetter and more prolonged flood-rich periods than hitherto experienced in the twenty-first century. Looking forwards, an increased likelihood of weather extremes due to climate change means that geomorphological based flood series extensions must be placed at the centre of flood risk assessment in the UK uplands and in similar areas worldwide. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban areas, the impacts of flash floods can be very severe as these regions are generally densely populated and contain vital infrastructure. Parts of the UK have been particularly prone to serious urban flooding in recent years, such as Boscastle in 2004. Due to climate change, the occurrence of urban flooding is predicted to increase in the future, which is likely to lead to increasing flood risk to people and property in urban areas. It is therefore appropriate to estimate potential flood risk to people and property for improved flood risk management. This paper outlines an integrated numerical model for estimating flood risk in urban areas. The model includes a module for predicting the two-dimensional hydrodynamic characteristics of urban floods and a new module for predicting the flood risk to people (both children and adults) and property (including vehicles and buildings). The hydrodynamic module of this model was verified against laboratory experimental data and real flood tracks in urban areas. The integrated model was also applied to predict the flood risk to people and property for the Boscastle 2004 floods, with different recurrence frequencies. The developed integrated model can be used to predict the potential flood risk to people and property in urban areas and such predictions can be used as a rough assessment in improving flood risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactive tools developed within the RegIS project for assessing the impacts of flooding provide information to support flood management policies and analyse the performance of possible adaptation activities to climate change. This paper describes the methodologies used in the development of these tools including tidal and fluvial flooding processes with different levels of climate pressures, represented by changes in sea level and peak river flows. Potential impacts of climate change for East Anglia and North West England are explored to the 2050s using four socio-economic scenarios to represent plausible futures. This includes changes in urban land use as well as adaptive responses to flooding comprising dike upgrade and realignment options. The results indicate that future climate will increase flood risk in both regions. East Anglia is more vulnerable to climate change than North West England at the present level of protection, especially in the extensive coastal lowlands of the Fens and Broads because of the combined effects of sea-level rise and increased fluvial flows. Although the present adaptive policy of upgrading defences in East Anglia will reduce the impacts of flooding, this policy is not effective in the case of the more extreme climate change scenarios by 2050s. In this case, more extensive adaptation would be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, weather-related disasters and extreme events continue to place increasing burdens on society and the economy. Climate change scenarios described in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report predict more frequent and more severe high-impact events. Indeed, data from the Canadian Disaster Database indicate that flooding disasters alone are four times as frequent today as they were 50 years ago. Management of major emergency events requires collaboration among all levels of government as mandated responsibilities become less distinct during crisis periods. This paper focuses on the role of the Meteorological Service of Canada in the management of flood and high-impact rainfall events through an analysis of lessons learned during the 2005 Alberta floods, showing that the Meteorological Service of Canada's risk-based environmental forecasting, warnings and mission-critical operational consultations are key to citizen-focused emergency management services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative effects of climate change are calling for action to mitigate and adapt to future challenges. National crisis management authorities need to prepare to handle crisis caused by direct or indirect effects. In this study, we investigate how crisis management authorities within the European Union prepare for the effects of climate change by conducting a small questionnaire study. The questionnaire used consisted of 12 questions and was answered by 17 counties. Results indicate that most crisis management agencies focus on weather-related incidents, such as floods, heatwaves and forest fires. Indirect effects are not prepared for to the same extent. The gulf between crisis management and climate adaptation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]