Urban Flood Risk and Resilience: How Can We Protect Our Cities from Flooding?

This article draws on over 40 years of the author’s experience with hydroinformatics tools for water and sustainability challenges, including flooding. It aims to spark discussion on urban flood risk and resilience rather than provide a literature review or definitive answers. Assessing urban flood risk and resilience is complex due to the spatio-temporal nature of rainfall, urban landscape features (e.g., buildings, roads, bridges and underpasses) and the interaction between aboveground and underground drainage systems. Flood simulation methods have evolved to analyse flood mitigation schemes, damage evaluation, flood risk mapping and green infrastructure impacts. Advances in terrain mapping technologies have improved flood analyses. Despite investments in flood management infrastructure, a residual flood risk remains, necessitating an understanding of the recovery and return to normality post-flood. Both risk and resilience approaches are essential for urban flood planning and management. Future challenges and opportunities include both technological and governance solutions, with artificial intelligence advancements offering the potential for digital twins to better protect urban communities and enhance the recovery from flood disasters.