2023 Predictions: Will a Major City Experience Unprecedented Flooding?

The DRI International Future Vision Committee has released its 8th Annual Predictions Report, looking ahead to 2022 and its impact on the resilience community. Download the complete report free from the DRI Library, and read on for a prediction on a major storm event. Prediction 5: A major city in the developed world will experience unprecedented flooding from a storm-related event. While the precise timing and location is impossible to predict, such an incident seems inevitable given the increasing frequency of intense weather events. The impact of Hurricane Sandy on New York City in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans in 2005 demonstrates the vulnerability of high-density population cities to intense flooding. Future incidents are likely to be more disruptive and life-threatening than Sandy or Katrina. A hardening insurance market will increase home and commercial property premiums. In the highest risk areas, insurance may become prohibitively expensive or even impossible to obtain. Join us for DRI2023 in Austin, TX, Feb. 26 – Mar. 1, 2023, where Future Vision Committee Chair Lyndon Bird will lead an interactive session where participants will have the opportunity to vote on a number of the key issues which have emerged from the reports. Bird will respond to voting as it happens, providing instant feedback and opinion. Please come to this session ready to participate, debate, and even argue if you wish. Challenging and controversial opinions are welcome.