A state of emergency has been declared in New York and New Jersey, at the north-eastern United States experiences flash-flooding and tornadoes as a result of Storm Ida. Dr Jonathan Clarke from Global Sustainable Development at the University of Warwick explains how our cities are particularly vulnerable to the increasing effects of extreme weather.

Dr Jonathan Clarke said: "The sudden flooding in New York and elsewhere in the USA as a result of Hurricane Ida, is another vivid reminder of the devastating risks posed by a changing climate. That it has affected the world’s most economically important city and coming so soon after the devastation that followed Hurricane Sandy in 2012, demonstrates the vulnerability of our cities to cascading climate risks and how events that would once have been considered to be freak occurrences, are now happening with alarming regularity. If we are to avoid the worst impacts of these coming disasters to our health, economy and livelihoods, we need to be more prepared promoting ‘adaptation’ in our built environment, protecting infrastructure and building more resilience in society at large."

2 September 2021

University of Warwick press office contact:

Peter Thorley

Media Relations Manager (Warwick Medical School and Department of Physics) | Press & Media Relations | University of Warwick
Email: peter.thorley@warwick.ac.uk 

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