The impact of flooding on C40 Cities by 2050
- C40 cities will experience combined riverine flood volumes of 10.5 million m3 annually, equivalent to four-and-a-half times the volume of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
- More than 7.4 million people living in at-risk areas will be exposed to flooding.
- The annual cost of urban flood damage will treble to US$64 billion each year, resulting in a US$136 billion fall in overall GDP. These figures are equivalent to the annual GDP of Croatia and Kuwait, respectively.
- Populations in the Global South are ten times more likely to be affected by flooding than residents in the Global North.
Solutions for cities
- Develop an emergency response plan to protect vulnerable and at-risk residents from flooding.
- Urgently implement river catchment management, such as river basin plans, renaturalising rivers and creating buffer protections.
- Implement coastal nature-based solution barriers such as mangroves, or artificial barriers against flooding such as seawalls or flood gates.
WATER SAFE CITIES
NARRATIVE EXPLORER
C40 cities will face surface water losses of more than 16.1 billion m3 a year, equivalent to the Sydney Harbour drying up 30 times over.
By 2050, more than 2,400 hospitals and healthcare facilities in C40 cities could be overwhelmed by flooding.
More than 300 energy generation facilities in C40 cities are at risk of flooding by 2050.