Lessons learnt from Typhoons Fitow and In-Fa: implications for improving urban flood resilience in Asian Coastal Cities

Abstract

<p>Frequent typhoons significantly affect many coastal cities via intensive rainstorms, tidal surges and strong wind. Natural factors induced by human disturbance such as climate change and sea-level rise come alongside anthropogenic factors such as rapid urbanisation and land use/land cover change, leading to detrimental consequences such as urban floods. This short communication offers various lessons learnt by Ningbo municipality from two strong typhoons that hit the city directly, namely Fitow in 2013 and In-Fa in 2021. On the one hand, usage of “Big Data” and “Social Media” for better “Preparation” and “Prevention” reduced flood impacts noticeably. On the other hand, implementation of “Flood Insurance” sped up the “Recovery” processes. The successful “Preparation”, “Response” and “Recovery” helped Ningbo to enhance its flood resilience, and thus to reduce or avoid substantial impacts of injuries, household damages and the associated economic loss. These three key terms should be heeded in typhoon/flood governance in which various stakeholders are involved, and be incorporated into the city’s long-term strategic development plans to merge with the climate actions towards the 2030s and beyond. This will be vitally important in reducing climatic hazards and improving coastal flood resilience under the future climatic uncertainties in Asian coastal cities.</p>