Low-attentionflooding disasters are events that receive lower widespreadattention because they cause relatively fewer impacts, as measured by mortalityor economic losses, compared to larger disasters. These events are important,however, because they disrupt daily lives and their impacts are expected toincrease with aging infrastructure systems and changing weather patterns.Evidence exists for low-attention floods becoming the new normal in both Japanand the UK. There is an urgent need to understand the impacts and adaptationpolicies for low-attention events, especially since they disproportionatelystress underprivileged populations, leading to increased societal inequality.Major cities with sufficient budgets, including New York and Tokyo, are alreadypreparing for such events, but this might not be an option for all cities astheir impacts increase. This project studied the human impacts of low-attentionflooding events, specifically population mobility and its intersection with socialvulnerability. This project was conducted in collaboration with Liverpool JohnMoores University.The keyhypothesis of this proposal was that when exposed to low-attention floodingevents, socially vulnerable and marginalized populations in Japan and the UKare more likely to experience unwanted displacement and prolonged impacts afterthe emergency period compared to higher-resourced populations because ofincreased flood exposure, depleted individual resources, or lack of public orprivate financial support. This project has contributed to Priority 1 of theSendai Framework by understanding disaster risk to ultimately work towardsreducing the number of affected populations by 2030.This projectapplied a human-focused mixed methods approach to study awareness of populationmobility due to low-attention flooding, or events that receive lower widespreadattention due to their smaller scale but have the potential to compoundpre-existing social vulnerability. For this, the project utilized a documentary-making approach, combined with computer simulations of how floods happen invulnerable communities. The project studied two case study locations in theUnited Kingdom (Liverpool) and Japan (Tokyo), two countries with differingunderlying vulnerabilities and disaster policy structures, to understand howpeople are aware of some small-scale risks. As part of this collaboration, thereis currently a journal paper that is being drafted, regarding how storytellingand digital media can inform adaptation to sea level rise and other climatestressors. 

The present project aimed to Understand how Asiandeltaic cities (namely Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, etc) are adapting toground subsidence and sea level rise (SLR), and the effect that this is havingon socio-economic systems. As part of the project the authors conducted aliterature survey of how different cities around the planet are adapting to sealevel rise, which were combined with past research at Waseda university thatutilized state of the art simulations of typhoons and storm surges. As aresult, adaptation pathways that can improve the long-term resilience ofcommunities to sea level rise (SLR) and climate enhanced natural disasters wereformulated. While it is clear that future SLR will pose an additional financialstrain on coastal communities, there is no evidence that any major coastalsettlements will retreat in the course of the 21st century, giventhe range of adaptation options available. Rather, the opposite appears to betrue, and evidence indicates that humans will probably continue to encroach onthe sea.  

The present project aimed todevelop a framework for pre-disaster reconstruction plans in the Philippines.As part of the project the authors conducted a literature survey of thehistorical development of Cebu city, obtaining information about reclaimedareas around the coastline (which are low-lying and are particularly at risk ofsuffering the effects of storm surges). Following typhoon Rei (Odette) inDecember 2022 there was widespread damage around Cebu, and the researcherssurveyed coastal areas to ascertain storm surge levels and document the damagethat took place.  

The research project achieved its objectives. The applicant traveled to the Philippines and conducted bathymetry surveys, aerial drone surveys, and conducted interviews with residents affected by high tides. Several locations on the islands were marked to continue to monitor the extent of the floods in future years. The significant of the research has already been picked up by the Guardian, a leading UK newspaper:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/01/enduring-the-tide-the-flooded-philippine-islands-that-locals-wont-leave?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR1SbqzIseGiwNIWmv__ujg-LuSccAlB2CSi_kWUJ9LOe8hZLhEI9BIFxTEThe article has been shared over 3000 times, with links to the videos related to the project having been watched over 12,000 times. Otherwise, so far one journal paper and one conference paper include the work that was done on the field trip, with several others currently under review.