blog post A Conversation about Flood Risk with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara By Ellen Hanak, Sarah Bardeen May 30, 2023 As California faces flooding this year, PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak spoke with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara about how to better protect the state’s residents from flood risk—which is growing in our changing climate.
blog post Addressing Inequality in Flood Risk By Lori Pottinger Nov 13, 2019 More than 7 million Californians are at risk of flooding, and not every community is well prepared. We talked to two experts at UC Irvine about how flooding affects social inequality.
blog post What’s Worse Than a Flood? A Debris Flow By Sarah Bardeen Mar 18, 2024 Move over, floods—there’s a new natural disaster in town: debris flows. We know that debris flows can be even more destructive than floods, but what are they and why do they happen? We speak with expert Jimmy Guilinger to learn more.
blog post Reducing Flood Risk in the Central Valley By Lori Pottinger Nov 19, 2019 The Central Valley has some of the highest risk of flooding in the state—and that risk is growing as the climate changes. We talked to Tim Ramirez of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board about what’s being done to manage this risk, now and into the future.
blog post Yesterday’s Dams Face Tomorrow’s Floods By Jeffrey Mount Feb 15, 2017 The crisis at Oroville Dam raises broad concerns about the way California should manage its dams in the future.
blog post State’s Ecosystems Face a Flood of Changes By Lori Pottinger Jan 11, 2016 Talk of drought has turned to worries about floods. How will the state’s drought-starved ecosystems adapt to the taps being turned on again? An expert interview with Josh Viers.
blog post Fostering Fairness in Flood Risk Management By Sarah Bardeen Aug 15, 2023 The US Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for planning and building much of the nation’s flood management infrastructure. In the past, the Corps used an economic evaluation system that favored projects in wealthier areas, that now appears to be changing. We asked the Corps’ Dr. Tessa Beach to tell us more.
blog post Storms, Floods, and COVID-19 Have Worsened Long-standing Farmworker Housing Challenges By Paulette Cha Apr 12, 2023 High housing costs in California have long been a major challenge, especially for low-income residents. Recent crises have added to the housing woes facing California farmworkers.
blog post Tropical Storm Hilary Wallops Southern California By Jeffrey Mount Aug 23, 2023 Tropical Storm Hilary hammered Southern California on Sunday, after making a destructive run over Baja California. The damage was real, but thankfully there was no loss of life. But there are a few things we do know—or can surmise—about why this rare event occurred, and the dangers such events will pose to California now and in the future.
blog post Flood Insurance: Why Don’t People Buy It? By Carolyn Kousky Apr 6, 2016 Flood insurance sales have been falling in the US in recent years, but California bucked the trend this year.
