State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

flood control

  • Glacier Flooding in Alaskan Capital Sets New Record

    Glacier Flooding in Alaskan Capital Sets New Record

    For the second year in a row, historic glacier floods have damaged hundreds of homes, cars and businesses in Juneau, Alaska.

  • Floods and the Urgency of Climate Adaptation Infrastructure

    Floods and the Urgency of Climate Adaptation Infrastructure

    Typically, political processes depend on catastrophes and crises to motivate major programs and expenditures. Will it take a large-scale flooding disaster to generate the political support to fund a flood control system that meets our region’s needs?

  • Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rainfall changes caused by global warming will increase river flooding risks across the globe by the 2040s, says a new study.

  • Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    In the last week, calving events at Lake Palcacocha in the Peruvian Andes released masses of ice from a glacier on Mount Pucaranra, showing the weakness of the existing infrastructure designed to protect the region from floods.

  • Making Room for Rivers: A Different Approach to Flood Control

    Making Room for Rivers: A Different Approach to Flood Control

    Over time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal engineering and construction agency, has spent over $123 billion on flood control infrastructure that hasn’t always adequately protected us. Now, with the devastation of the spring floods in the Midwest, some are calling for a new approach to flood control that makes room for our…

  • Glacier Flooding in Alaskan Capital Sets New Record

    Glacier Flooding in Alaskan Capital Sets New Record

    For the second year in a row, historic glacier floods have damaged hundreds of homes, cars and businesses in Juneau, Alaska.

  • Floods and the Urgency of Climate Adaptation Infrastructure

    Floods and the Urgency of Climate Adaptation Infrastructure

    Typically, political processes depend on catastrophes and crises to motivate major programs and expenditures. Will it take a large-scale flooding disaster to generate the political support to fund a flood control system that meets our region’s needs?

  • Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rainfall changes caused by global warming will increase river flooding risks across the globe by the 2040s, says a new study.

  • Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    In the last week, calving events at Lake Palcacocha in the Peruvian Andes released masses of ice from a glacier on Mount Pucaranra, showing the weakness of the existing infrastructure designed to protect the region from floods.

  • Making Room for Rivers: A Different Approach to Flood Control

    Making Room for Rivers: A Different Approach to Flood Control

    Over time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal engineering and construction agency, has spent over $123 billion on flood control infrastructure that hasn’t always adequately protected us. Now, with the devastation of the spring floods in the Midwest, some are calling for a new approach to flood control that makes room for our…