Flood Risk Management Research Consortium: Phase 2 (FRMRC2)
Flood Risk Management (FRM) is a key focus of many national and international research programmes with flooding from rivers, estuaries and the sea posing a serious threat to millions of people around the world during a period of extreme climate variability.
The establishment of the 2nd phase of this programme of original and high-quality science will enhance the understanding of flooding and improve our ability to reduce flood risk through the development of sustainable flood management strategies.
FHRC research on this project extends our research expertise in two areas: in risk and uncertainty communication, and in urban flooding, where one strand of work has developed an novel empirical tools to improve impacts and benefit assessments of FRM strategies in terms of true overall costs of different response strategies. Another strand of work extends our research in risk and uncertainty communications between professionals. FHRC is hosting a PhD student, Meghan Alexander, who is working on an EPSRC-supported DTC grant. She is exploring the role of visualisations of flood hazard and their utility at the professional interface with Category 1 flood event responders. Other work in relation to risk communication includes the study of uncertainty tools. Here our intention is to identify a defined process of involving researchers and practitioners in developing Guidelines of Practice for uncertainty estimation in FRM. A report from the translational discourse workshops designed to inform the development of Guidelines of Practice will be produced for end-users and project funders.
We also have an advisory role in the production of reports and simulations that can enhance strategic decision making for integrated flood risk management portfolios in the Thames Estuary, incorporating climate change, socio-economic change, asset deterioration and optimisation under uncertainty.
Funder:
Sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC), with additional funding from the EA/Defra (Joint Defra/EA Flood and Coastal Erosion Management R&D Programme), the Northern Ireland Rivers Agency (DARDNI) and the Office of Public Works (OPW), Dublin.
Duration:
October 2007 – April 2012
FHRC Project Manager:
