Division of Flooding and Poverty
Climate change and increased flood hazards will drive increased poverty in the 21st Century. Through the study of displaced populations, disrupted economies, water-borne illnesses and the loss of ecosystem services and infrastructure caused by flooding, UC Blum Center Scholars are utilizing big-data to identify solutions to mitigate flood risk, foster peace and stability in flood-affected communities and empower citizens to action through widely-accessible information and leadership.
Projects & Team
Latest News & Research
In the News: A More Nuanced Flood Risk Model for Los Angeles
Dr. Brett Sanders, Blum Center flood expert, and his team of engineers at UCI have been featured in a recent LAist article for their work on developing an updated and more nuanced model of flood risk for Los Angeles. The model, called PRIMo-Drain, accounts for more...
In the News: Sand Goes where Rivers Flow- Sanders on California’s Infrastructure Problem
Elected officials and experts recently gathered to discuss California's beach problem - the coastline is threatened by climate change, sea level rise, and erosions. Another major factor in our coastal woes - poor infrastructure design, says Blum Center flood and...
In the News: Sanders – Healthy Ecosystems Might Require Sand Nourishment
Blum Center flood and erosion expert, Dr. Brett Sanders spoke on several, perhaps lesser publicly understood influences on California beaches. He highlighted the role of rivers in providing sediment to beaches - if sediment which would have naturally eroded and flowed...
Research Lead
Brett Sanders (B.S., University of California, Berkeley; M.S., University of Michigan; Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Sanders’ research group specializes in the development of innovative algorithms for flow and transport in river and coastal systems and the integration of information technologies to create more accurate and efficient simulation tools.
Project Information
News
- California’s aging dams face new perils, 50 years after Sylmar quake crisis (LA Times)
- ‘Expect More’: Climate Change Raises Risk of Dam Failures (New York Times)
- Researchers find collaborative flood modeling process effective (National Science Foundation)
- UCI, other researchers find collaborative flood modeling process effective (UCI News)
- Beach dynamics (UCI News)
- Scientists from UC Campuses Study Floods, Flood Socioeconomics (Spectrum News)
- What Is a Nuisance Flood, Exactly? (Eos)
- In a warming climate, ocean- and land-based floods are a disastrous duo, UCI researchers find (UCI News)
- Over time, nuisance flooding can cost more than extreme, infrequent events (UCI News)
Graduate Degrees
Employment Opportunities
No positions are currently available.