Framework for economic pluvial flood risk assessment considering climate change effects and adaptation benefits

SummaryClimate change is likely to affect the water cycle by influencing the precipitation patterns. It is important to integrate the anticipated changes into the design of urban drainage in response to the increased risk level in cities. This paper presents a pluvial flood risk assessment framework to identify and assess adaptation options in the urban context. An integrated approach is adopted by incorporating climate change impact assessment, flood inundation modeling, economic tool, and risk assessment, hereby developing a step-by-step process for cost-benefit assessment of climate change adaptation measures. A Danish case study indicates that the introduced framework presented in the paper can be considered as an important decision support tool that can supplement and further develop existing decision practices in relation to urban drainage.

► We integrate climate impact, inundation modeling, economic tool and risk assessment.
► We develop a step-by-step process for economic assessment of adaptation measures.
► The method can be considered as an important decision support tool.
► The framework assesses the efficiency of adaptation by estimating costs and benefits.
► It shows the capability to reduce exceedance of the drainage design capacity.