risk

A team from the Netherlands has studied the role that salt marshes might play in protecting coastal areas subject to heavy swells from flooding. To this end, they transported and installed 306 square metres of salt marsh and vegetation in the Delta Flume, one of the world’s largest wave flumes. After 21 hours of exposure to waves up to two metres high, they found that the vegetation can reduce wave height by more than 10 per cent and by up to 50 per cent on low-energy marshy coasts — that is, those where waves reach a maximum of one metre. According to the authors, the restoration and conservation of salt marshes on storm-exposed coasts could be a promising strategy for mitigating the effects of storms. The findings are published in Nature.

A study published in Scientific Reports estimates that the total area occupied by buildings within potentially flood-prone zones near the Himalayas increased by approximately 45 per cent between 2016 and 2023. In total, the study estimates that around 300,000 people could be at risk of flooding in the Nepalese, Indian and Chinese regions of the mountain range. Floods in the Himalayas are usually caused by monsoons, torrential rain or, on rare occasions, by devastating debris flows and glacial lake outbursts — such as the one that occurred last August. Climate change is expected to increase the severity of these events, whilst the narrow, steep valleys of mountainous areas can exacerbate the height of the floods and their consequences.

Could artificial intelligence (AI) kill us all? What evidence underpins these warnings? Is it all just a marketing campaign? Are there financial interests behind the calls to slow down development? An information session organised by SMC Spain explored these and other issues with three leading figures in the field of artificial intelligence in our country.

The devastating floods in Valencia in October 2024 and the rainfall alert issued on September 28, 2025, showed that the way we communicate risks can make a difference, for better or for worse. This article presents eight key points for journalists, public officials, communicators, and anyone else interested in communicating better about floods and other crises.