flooding Archives - Disasters News

Apr252025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Ghana’s Flooding Crisis: Bad Planning Drowns Cities, Kills Livelihood

Flooding in Accra Ghana’s capital is worsening each year but it’s not only due to climate change. A new study by urban sustainability experts reveals that poor land use planning and weak regulation enforcement are the real culprits. As more wetlands are overtaken by construction and drains clogged with waste, urgent reforms are needed to protect the city from sinking under its own mismanagement. A growing flood problem in West Africa Urban flooding is becoming a critical issue across the global south. In 2024 alone, more than 4 million people were affected by floods in West and Central Africa. Ghana is among the hardest hit, with major cities like Accra and Kumasi facing annual flood damage. In response to this escalating problem, Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has set ...

Rising Groundwater Threatens Inland Flooding in Coastal Cities

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Rising sea levels caused by climate change are bringing an often-overlooked threat to coastal communities rising groundwater. While coastal erosion and storm surges have been widely studied, the inland spread of flood hazards due to groundwater rise remains a hidden danger. A recent study by Cox et al. focuses on Dunedin, New Zealand, a city already facing periodic flooding, and presents a method to predict how rising seas will impact groundwater levels, offering crucial insights for flood risk management. The research, based on data from 2019 to 2023 collected from 35 groundwater sensors, shows that as sea levels rise, groundwater levels will also increase, limiting the land’s ability to absorb rainfall and leading to higher risks of surface flooding. Even before reaching the surfac...

FEMA Adopts New Rule to Improve Flood Resilience by Redefining Floodplain Standards Amid Rising Climate Change Risks

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced a significant policy change aimed at enhancing community resilience to flooding by redefining the floodplain standards it uses to determine safe building locations. This move follows an executive order from President Joe Biden, compelling government agencies to incorporate climate change impacts into their flood risk assessments. Historically, FEMA and other federal agencies have defined a floodplain based on an area having a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year, known as the 100-year floodplain standard. However, this standard has proved insufficient, as floods frequently submerge buildings outside these designated zones. The new rule requires FEMA to factor in the effects of climate change, such ...