Compound Flooding in Coastal Watersheds

This research addresses the complex reality that coastal communities face simultaneous threats from multiple flood sources - riverine flooding, storm surge, and precipitation - that can amplify each other's impacts. Using advanced statistical modeling approaches, including Bayesian networks and copula-based methods, together with hydrodynamic simulation, this work develops frameworks to predict probable combinations of coastal and riverine flood drivers based on tropical cyclone characteristics and historical data. The research moves beyond conventional single-hazard approaches to quantify compound flood hazards in highly urbanized coastal watersheds, with particular focus on understanding how anthropogenic changes and climate impacts influence the temporal relationships between different flood sources. This work is critical advancing the resilience of communities located along the U.S. Atlantic Coast and globally, providing scientific foundations for identifying the dominant factors that will drive future flood risk.