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Flash floods: why are more of them devastating the world’s driest regions?

Shifting weather, changing settlement patterns and a lack of preparedness mean that dryland areas are most at risk from flooding. Researchers need to focus on data collection, early-warning systems, flood protection and more.
  1. Jie Yin

    1. Jie Yin is a professor in the Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.

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  2. Yao Gao

    1. Yao Gao is a senior researcher in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, and at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

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  3. Ruishan Chen

    1. Ruishan Chen is a professor at the School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.

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  4. Dapeng Yu

    1. Dapeng Yu is professor of river dynamics in Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.

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  5. Robert Wilby

    1. Robert Wilby is professor of hydroclimatic modelling in Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.

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  6. Nigel Wright

    1. Nigel Wright is professor of water and environmental engineering in the School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK.

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  7. Yong Ge

    1. Yong Ge is professor of geographical information science at the State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

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  8. Jeremy Bricker

    1. Jeremy Bricker is an associate professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, and in the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

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  9. Huili Gong

    1. Huili Gong is a professor at the College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.

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  10. Mingfu Guan

    1. Mingfu Guan is assistant professor of hydro-environment and geohazard in the Department of Civil Engineering, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

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A family walks amid flood waters following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Mehar, Pakistan

A family navigates flood waters to reach a village in Mehar, Pakistan, after heavy rains in August 2022. Credit: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Last year, around two-thirds of Pakistan was affected by widespread flash flooding, with more than 1,500 people killed and around 33 million made homeless. Almost 2,000 people died in flash floods across Africa, and parts of the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Yemen were inundated with water.

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Nature 615, 212-215 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00626-9

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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