Rising Above the Floods: Stories from Flood-Affected Communities

Flooding, one of the most dangerous natural disasters, is becoming increasingly prevalent due to climate change. Millions of people around the world are impacted by floods and the effects stretch far beyond the physical destruction.

This episode features interviews with experts Andreas Deckelmann, Senior Consultant for Hydrogeology and Environment at HPC; Jon Rix, Principal Flood Risk Consultant at Tonkin + Taylor; and Agenor Freitas, Field Technician at Antea Brasil. They share their harrowing experiences during devastating floods in Germany, New Zealand, and Brazil. They also discuss the innovative solutions and strategies they are developing to help communities mitigate the effects of disasters like floods. Despite adversity, their stories of courage and community support offer not only hope and inspiration, but also invaluable insights for a more climate-resilient future.

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Guest Quotes

“I think the huge growth there is how can we be ready for the next events? What were the lessons from what we've experienced, and how can we more efficiently respond to the future events, which we know are coming? Because they're going to be getting more frequent.” - Jon Rix

“The knowledge of the local people and conducting interviews, for example, in a case of a flooding event, sometimes oral information is really important. Information by a local inhabitant of a municipality about perhaps the former drainage channel can be as valuable or even more valuable as any kind of planning information.” - Andreas Deckelmann

“Well, I think no matter how insensitive people can be, if they don't feel something after what happened in the region, well, I'm sorry, but they have no heart. Because it had such a big impact on me. To this day, I still have nightmares about it.” - Agenor Freitas

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Time Stamps

*(00:00) Episode Start

*(01:45) Andreas Deckelmann on flooding in Germany

*(06:35) Disaster preparedness in Germany

*(09:20) HPC’s role in climate resilience

*(12:46) Jon Rix on flooding in New Zealand

*(21:19) Emotional impact of natural disasters

*(22:52) Tonkin + Taylor’s climate resilience efforts

*(26:35) Agenor Freitas on flooding in Brazil

*(29:38) Reflections on impacted communities

*(30:37) Phil’s takeaways

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Sponsor copy

Rethinking EHS is brought to you by the Inogen Alliance. Inogen Alliance is a global network of environment, health, safety, sustainability and ESG consulting companies working together to provide one point of contact to guide multinational organizations to meet their global commitments locally. Visit http://www.inogenalliance.com/ to learn more.

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Links

Follow Phil on LinkedIn

Follow Andreas on LinkedIn

Follow Jon on LinkedIn

Explore Inogen Alliance's resources

Check out the BBC’s article 'How to protect communities and build resilience to natural disasters'