Is the tropical cyclone surge in Shanghai more sensitive to landfall location or intensity change?

It has been shown that the proportion of intense tropical cyclones (TCs) has been increasing together with a poleward migration of TC track. However, their relative importance to TC surge at landfall remains unknown. Here we examine the sensitivity of TC surge in Shanghai to landfall location and intensity with a new dynamical modelling...

Tidal-flat reclamation aggravates potential risk from storm impacts

A better understanding of how tidal-flat reclamation changes the flood hazard is critical for climate-proofing coastal flood defense design of heavily urbanized areas. Since the 1950s, large-scale reclamation has been performed along the Shanghai coast, China, to fulfill the land demands of city expansion. We now show that the loss of tidal...

Statistical analysis of building damage from the 2013 super typhoon haiyan and its storm surge in The Philippines

In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the Philippines. It caused heavy loss of lives and extensive damages to buildings and infrastructure. When collapsed buildings are focused on, it is inter-esting to find that these buildings did not collapse for the same reasons after the landfall of the typhoon and storm surge. The...

Impacts of extreme events on hydrodynamic characteristics of a submerged floating tunnel

A submerged floating tunnel (SFT) is a promising alternative to conventional bridges and tunnels, and can be potentially built in the Qiongzhou Strait in China. However, this area is under the threat of disasters including mega tsunamis and severe storm surges. To evaluate the hydrodynamic loads of the SFT in this hazardous zone subject to...

Interdisciplinary Design of Vital Infrastructure to Reduce Flood Risk in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward

Engineering for flood resilience of dense coastal regions often neglects the resultant impact on urban design quality. Vital subsurface infrastructure such as hydraulic systems, water networks, civil construction, transport, energy supply and soil systems are especially important in shaping the urban environment and integrating resilience....

Comparison of Implicit and Explicit Vegetation Representations in SWAN Hindcasting Wave Dissipation by Coastal Wetlands in Chesapeake Bay

Assessing the accuracy of nearshore numerical models—such as SWAN—is important to ensure their effectiveness in representing physical processes and predicting flood hazards. In particular, for application to coastal wetlands, it is important that the model accurately represents wave attenuation by vegetation. In SWAN, vegetation might be...

Frequency Analysis of Storm-Surge-Induced Flooding for the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China

Shanghai, as a coastal city, is vulnerable to various types of flooding. The floodwalls along the Huangpu River provide protection against typhoon-induced flooding. However, there is limited insight into the actual safety level of the flood defences in Shanghai, and recent failures have highlighted their vulnerability. Therefore, the aims of...

Are inundation limit and maximum extent of sand useful for differentiating tsunamis and storms?: An example from sediment transport simulations on the Sendai Plain, Japan

We examined the quantitative difference in the distribution of tsunami and storm deposits based on numerical simulations of inundation and sediment transport due to tsunami and storm events on the Sendai Plain, Japan. The calculated distance from the shoreline inundated by the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami was smaller than that inundated by storm...