Urban Flood Risk and Resilience: How Can We Protect Our Cities from Flooding?
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsWith the author's opinions shed light on future flood risk management research, this article has great value to be published.
There is only a minor editing need. The referencing style for Fotovatikhah et al 2018 (Line 136) is different from the others in IEEE style.
Author Response
Comment 1: There is only a minor editing need. The referencing style for Fotovatikhah et al 2018 (Line 136) is different from the others in IEEE style.
Response: Thank you for pointing this out. I've made the appropriate change in the text.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI have no particular comments, although I believe that the manuscript might benefit from including a couple of case studies as examples, but this is not a condition for not accepting the paper as it is.
In fact, I consider that the manuscript includes very good reflections on update topics, concerning urban flood forecasting approaches, risks and resilience, highly interesting for scientists and practitioners.
Author Response
Comment 1:
I have no particular comments, although I believe that the manuscript might benefit from including a couple of case studies as examples, but this is not a condition for not accepting the paper as it is.
In fact, I consider that the manuscript includes very good reflections on update topics, concerning urban flood forecasting approaches, risks and resilience, highly interesting for scientists and practitioners.
Response: Thank you for your kind remarks. I considered your suggestion of providing case studies, but I believe that would lengthen the opinion paper and detract from the main messages. Some of the applications of the methodologies are already provided in the listed references, and a new one is provided in reference No. 13.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper is well-written and addresses a topic of high relevance to the readership of Hydrology. It provides a comprehensive and insightful overview of the challenges and opportunities in the emerging domain of urban flood risk management. The paper effectively synthesizes existing knowledge and technical insights, offering a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the field.
However, the discussion remains largely technical, focusing on summarizing existing information rather than exploring practical pathways for implementation. One key question that could be further articulated is: How do we move from insights to action? Urban flood risk is just one of many pressing challenges cities face, and it does not always receive the highest priority. Addressing this issue effectively will require strategies that align, integrate, and find synergies with other domains, such as the energy transition.
Emerging approaches such as 3PA and design-based approaches may offer a way forward by incorporating diverse disciplines and stakeholders to ensure more holistic and equitable solutions. Also the paper does not explicitly address the challenges around assessing and managing indirect flood impacts incl. how these impacts are distributed across different s socioeconomic groups. See for instance: de Bruijn, K.M., Jafino, B.A., Merz, B. et al. Flood risk management through a resilience lens. Commun Earth Environ 3, 285 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00613-4.
Author Response
Comment 1: The paper is well-written and addresses a topic of high relevance to the readership of Hydrology. It provides a comprehensive and insightful overview of the challenges and opportunities in the emerging domain of urban flood risk management. The paper effectively synthesizes existing knowledge and technical insights, offering a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the field.
Response: Thank you.
Comment 2: However, the discussion remains largely technical, focusing on summarizing existing information rather than exploring practical pathways for implementation. One key question that could be further articulated is: How do we move from insights to action? Urban flood risk is just one of many pressing challenges cities face, and it does not always receive the highest priority. Addressing this issue effectively will require strategies that align, integrate, and find synergies with other domains, such as the energy transition.
Response: Thank you for your insight. I agree that the paper focuses mostly on the technological solutions, which is an obvious bias due to my own background. I have tried to address the reviewer's comment by providing the following text in the paper (Page 4, Lines 126-134):
"While technological solutions provide insights necessary to manage urban flood risks and improve resilience, moving from insights to action requires a coordinated strategy that aligns with other pressing urban challenges, such as the energy transition and urban planning. Fostering collaboration between different sectors, including water and wastewater management, urban planning, energy, and transportation, could create synergies and holistic solutions to many of the challenges, including urban flooding. Planning for synergistic capacity expansion of urban water, sewer, and road networks in Montreal (Canada) demonstrates that significant savings can be achieved when compared to the uncoordinated master planning for each of the sectors [13]."
Comment 3: Emerging approaches such as 3PA and design-based approaches may offer a way forward by incorporating diverse disciplines and stakeholders to ensure more holistic and equitable solutions. Also the paper does not explicitly address the challenges around assessing and managing indirect flood impacts incl. how these impacts are distributed across different s socioeconomic groups. See for instance: de Bruijn, K.M., Jafino, B.A., Merz, B. et al. Flood risk management through a resilience lens. Commun Earth Environ 3, 285 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00613-4.
Response: Thank you. I agree that indirect flood impacts and their distribution across socioeconomic groups, space and time should be mentioned in an opinion paper. I have included the following sentence in the Future Challenges and Opportunities section (Page 4, Lines 157-161):
"Interconnectedness of critical infrastructure can lead to indirect effects of urban flooding that exacerbate the overall impact on city functionality. Additionally, flood risk disproportionately affects lower-income and minority communities, highlighting significant inequities in vulnerability and access to resources for disaster preparedness and recovery [17]."
