Global flood exposure from different sized rivers

Abstract

There is now a wealth of data to calculate global flood exposure. Available datasets differ in detail and representation of both global population distribution and global flood hazard. Previous studies of global flood risk have used datasets interchangeably without addressing the impacts using different datasets could have on exposure estimates. By calculating flood exposure to different sized rivers using a model-independent geomorphological river flood susceptibility map (RFSM), we show that limits placed on the size of river represented in global flood models result in global flood exposure estimates that differ by more than a factor of 2. The choice of population dataset is found to be equally important and can have enormous impacts on national flood exposure estimates. Up-to-date, high-resolution population data are vital for accurately representing exposure to smaller rivers and will be key in improving the global flood risk picture. Our results inform the appropriate application of these datasets and where further development and research are needed.