Date: February 12, 2025
Lecture Topic: Flash Floods: Challenges and Needs for Mitigation and Adaptation

Speaker: Philippe Gourbesville
Affiliation: Université Côte d’Azur; International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR)

Speaker Profile:
Professor Philippe Gourbesville is currently Professor of Hydrological Informatics at the School of Engineering of Université Côte d’Azur, France, and President of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR).
An internationally experienced water resources expert, his career began in a leading French consultancy, where he participated in water engineering projects across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Since joining Université Côte d’Azur in 1997, he has led 16 European Union research programs. Between 2004 and 2022, he coordinated five top European universities, nine international organizations, and more than 60 companies to successfully establish the EuroAquae international joint master’s program in hydrological informatics, which has trained water management professionals worldwide.
In 2012, he founded the Tianjin International Engineering Institute in China and served as the French Dean, establishing China’s first French engineering degree accreditation system.
As Co-founder and Vice President of the Asia Water Council, Professor Gourbesville has long been committed to developing innovative solutions to water-related challenges in Asia. He has also frequently served as a legal expert witness for major flood disasters and provided professional consultancy to United Nations agencies, government authorities, and multinational corporations. His academic leadership and practical experience are deeply integrated, continuously contributing to the advancement of global water security.

Lecture Overview:
This lecture will focus on the global phenomenon of flash floods, offering an in-depth discussion of the increasingly severe global trends associated with these events. In recent years, flash floods have become a major natural hazard faced by countries worldwide and, under the influence of climate change, have shown increasing frequency and intensity driven by severe convective storms (SCS). According to insurance industry data, the economic losses and casualties caused by flash floods have risen to become one of the most critical disaster risks of global concern. To reduce population vulnerability in exposed regions, it is essential to strengthen mitigation measures for flash flood impacts and to develop appropriate adaptation strategies.
Professor Gourbesville will review several recent catastrophic flash flood events around the world, distill key lessons learned, emphasize the importance of early warning procedures, and assess the various modeling approaches available for predicting major events and their effectiveness. Through these discussions, participants will gain a better understanding of how to take more effective actions in early warning and disaster loss reduction.

Lecture Time:

Beijing Time: February 12, 21:00

UK Time: February 12, 13:00

Lecture Links:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/df49b6e9-0f9d-4e32-90e5-680aadcd2a3a@cf264fc0-aeb8-449f-9054-82ce4454084b

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