Outlined in a newly released LA Times article, Blum Center research on flooding has begun to have real-world impacts. The article introduces a motion that was recently passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors that seeks to have the Department of Public Works “prepare a report on the viability of existing flood control infrastructure.”
The article notes that this motion came about as a result of studies from UC Irvine that outlined data needed to determine where and how hard flooding may hit various parts of Los Angeles County. The author of the motion, Supervisor Janice Hahn, said the potential catastrophic flooding will disproportionately hit communities of color, and it is now the job of the County to take steps to protect these communities from harmful aftereffects.
The study was deemed one of “the first to examine how weather extremes due to climate change may affect the region, whose development was guided by social and racial divisions that favored white residents.” Further, this article zoomed in on the intricacies of the study, explaining that the chances of seeing another large flood over the next 40 years are about 50/50.
Want to read more? You can access the article here.