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For Yellowstone National Park, 2022 is a historic year. For one, the 2.1-million-acre park, founded in 1872, is marking its 150th anniversary. President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation which was officially titled -- – establishing the first national park.

Another historical first recently occurred. In June 2022, the park experienced what the Unprecedented rain and rapid snowmelt caused rivers in parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, including those running through Yellowstone, to burst their banks. The historic flooding caused catastrophic damage, destroying homes, washing away entire section of roads, swallowing bridges, and isolating communities. More than 10,000 visitors had to evacuate the park.

The western U.S. wasn’t the only region hit hard by flood waters in June. A delayed spring snowmelt, coupled with heavy rains, have wreaked havoc in parts of Canada and posed high flood risks to parts of the country through July. Recently, in Montreal, aging infrastructure couldn’t withstand a heavy rainstorm where flood waters flooded streets and the Metro system.

10 times greater
Flooding affects more people than any other type of natural disaster. Flooding causes more damage in the United States than any other severe weather-related event, an average of $5 billion a year. Flooding can occur in any of the 50 states or U.S. territories at any time of the year. Flash flooding is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S., accounting for upwards of 200 deaths per year. , 2 in 10 Canadian homes are at risk for flooding.

And unfortunately, recent studies have shown that flood risk is only going to get worse, everywhere.

, scientists at Cloud to Street, NASA, Google Earth and several universities analyzed global flood exposure using satellite observations. Their work created the largest flood data set ever produced that maps the maximum extent of water during 913 large flood events between 2000 and 2018. They concluded that as more people have migrated into flood-prone areas, the population exposed to floods since 2000 is 10 times higher than previous estimates.

According to the [Water Safe Cities] report, cities will see an increase in three types of flooding — river, coastal and wastewater — during the next three decades.

Cities under water
Another recent analysis —   — looked at members of C40 Cities, a network of nearly 100 cities worldwide collaborating on ways to confront climate change. The report includes 11 U.S. cities.

According to the report, cities will see an increase in three types of flooding — river, coastal and wastewater — during the next three decades:

• River Flooding: Damages caused by river flooding, like the recent flooding in and around Yellowstone, are the highest in North America and Asia. These continents are where infrastructure and urban property are most at risk of flooding tied to rivers and where the damage is the most expensive.
• Stormwater Flooding: Stormwater flooding often causes major disruptions to drivers and transit commuters, the report notes. In recent years, for example, Washington D.C., experienced intense downpours that flooded its Metro subway stations. Hurricane Ida in 2021 showed the damage caused by a storm surge. (See our Fast Fast Forward article, Hurricane-Ready: 3 lessons learned in 2021 to prepare for 2022’s storms, to learn more about the lessons learned from last year’s hurricane season.)
• Coastal Flooding: The report said that the more frequent and intense weather patterns could lead to sudden flooding along coastlines, as seen with Hurricane Sandy. Damages from the superstorm that devastated New York and New Jersey in 2012 .

Rebuilding natural protections
According to the Water Safe Cities report, in the U.S., every dollar invested in flood protection saves up to $318 in damages. In addition, adaptation measures can prevent job losses and increase employment growth.

There are a number of steps local and state governments are looking to take to help mitigate increasing flood risk and losses including:

• Develop an emergency response plan to protect residents from flooding.
• Implement river catchment management, including river basin plans and buffer protection.
• Add green solutions for water permeability and flood protection, like floodplains, green riverbanks and rain gardens.
• Design artificial barriers like seawalls and flood gates.

Restoring wetlands has been shown effective in reducing coastal flooding. During Hurricane Sandy, wetlands helped prevent about $625 million in property damage in the affected areas, and that coastal wetlands throughout the U.S. provide storm protection worth about $23 billion per year. One study examined the benefits of wetlands through the year in Ocean County, New Jersey, which was heavily impacted by Sandy. It found that areas behind existing salt marshes have 20% fewer property damages on average when compared to areas where salt marshes have been lost.

Similarly, researchers conducting a benefit-risk analysis found that mangroves and  can be  in reducing . Researchers were able to show that the gains from reduced damage from floods outweighed the costs of restoring the corals and mangroves, leading to a favorable return on investment. The researchers found mangrove restoration opportunities that were cost-effective in 20 countries and territories, with Cuba, the U.S. and the Bahamas having the most coastal study units with cost-effective possibilities.

Prevention can pay off
Given flood risk is on the rise, businesses are wise to consider what steps can be taken to minimize the potential effects of flooding, protect properties, supplies and products and improve business resilience.

AXA XL’s property risk engineers are often enlisted to perform property portfolio or site-specific analysis to help clients understand their overall Nat Cat property exposures, compute possible loss accumulation to assure adequate insurance coverage and outline loss prevention action plans. (Learn more here.)

Another helpful guide is AXA XL’s Natural disaster emergency planning and preparedness guide offering details on what to consider in any business’ disaster planning. Such planning should include physical protection that aims to prevent water intrusion as well as contingency planning should flooding cause supply chain or other business interruption.

When a storm that could bring potential flooding is already on the radar, 色多多视频Risk Consulting has prepared helpful tools including a Severe weather planning guide and Severe weather planning checklists, to help businesses take some measures to minimize or prevent water damage.

As recent weather events have shown, in all parts of North America, and across the globe, flood risk is real and rising. While scientists, governments and others look at ways to reduce the risk, businesses are wise to take preventative action too. Proper preparedness for any natural disaster, including flooding, can keep businesses from going under, both literally and figuratively.

About the Author
Based in New York, Bruno D’Urso is Risk Engineering Lead with 色多多视频Risk Consulting. He can be reached via Bruno.durso@axaxl.com.