An analytical, non-alarmist approach to the impact of extreme flooding events on real estate assets

The resilience of the built environment to sustain and thrive through the long term will increasingly depend on its vulnerability to key risks, such as the long-term consequences of climate change, the increased occurrence of extreme weather events, and natural disasters. The impact of these extreme events is wide-ranging not only on the built environment, but also on the social and physical infrastructure that supports human activity.

These impacts will vary greatly depending on geographical location. Insurance company Aon has estimated that natural hazard–related disasters caused around $3 trillion (€2.75 trillion) of damage between 2010 and 2019, approximately 50 percent more than in the previous decade. As the understanding of climate change increases and the frequency of extreme weather events becomes more frequent, it is logical that the real estate industry should actively attempt to understand what the implications are for existing and future buildings.

Rea