Page - 18 - in options, Volume winter 2014/2015

18 options + winter 2014/2015 www.iiasa.ac.at F loods are the most devastating natural hazard globally. In order to operationalize, measure, and help build the resilience of communities to floods, IIASA is participating in the innovative Flood Resilience Alliance launched by Zurich Insurance. This extensive research project brings together IIASA’s expertise on risk modeling and systems science with the on-the-ground presence of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the international development NGO, Practical Action, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center. The Flood Resilience Alliance aims to find innovative ways to reduce risk before a flood strikes. NGO collaborators will use IIASA findings to design and implement interventions to benefit communities. IIASA’s effort, which is truly cross-cutting, involves three IIASA programs: Risk, Policy and Vulnerability; Ecosystems Services and Management; and Water. The Alliance is working with communities in Mexico, Nepal, Indonesia, and Peru. As Reinhard Mechler, IIASA’s scientific lead for the project, explains, “IIASA is designing advanced modeling techniques that are robust, user-driven, and user-friendly. The work and findings will not only help communities directly at risk, but also eventually support local, national, and international policymakers, NGOs, and donors worldwide.” A unique alliance between leading humanitarian and development NGOs, IIASA, and the private sector will help build flood resilience in communities across the globe Bouncing forward FlOOdING IN INdONeSIA In 2013, 47 people died in serious flooding in West  Java and Jakarta. Jakarta has been subject to recurrent flooding—risk is intricately linked to development of this megacity in a complex socioeconomic environment. Rapid urbanization and a lack of building and zoning regulations coupled with land subsidence and sea-level rise have led to heightened exposure and vulnerability of houses and infrastructure to extreme rainfall in this megacity. +nS