Global assessment of storm disaster-prone areas.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Advances in climate change research contribute to improved forecasts of hydrological extremes with potentially severe impacts on human societies and natural landscapes. Rainfall erosivity density (RED), i.e. rainfall erosivity (MJ mm hm-2 h-1 yr-1) per rainfall unit (mm), is a measure of rainstorm aggressiveness and a proxy indicator of damaging hydrological events.

Methods and findings

Here, using downscaled RED data from 3,625 raingauges worldwide and log-normal ordinary kriging with probability mapping, we identify damaging hydrological hazard-prone areas that exceed warning and alert thresholds (1.5 and 3.0 MJ hm-2 h-1, respectively). Applying exceedance probabilities in a geographical information system shows that, under current climate conditions, hazard-pro

SUBMITTER: Diodato N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9401149 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature