Recent advances in the modeling and remote sensing of droughts and floods Droughts and floods are causing increasing damage worldwide, often with devastating short- and long-term impacts on human society. Forecasting when they will occur, monitoring them as they develop, and learning from the past to improve disaster management is vital. Global Drought and Flood: Observation, Modeling, and Prediction presents recent advances in the modeling and remote sensing of droughts and floods. It also describes the techniques and products currently available and how they are being used in practice. Volume highlights include: Remote sensing approaches for mapping droughts and floods Physical and statistical models for monitoring and forecasting hydrologic hazards Features of various drought and flood systems and products Use by governments, humanitarian, and development stakeholders in recent disaster cases Improving the collaboration between hazard information provision and end users The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.

Flood risk management has been studied extensively and intensively in many academic fields from civil engineering, sociology, economics, culture, and even psychology. However, the fact that flooding accounts for a greater number of damaging events than any other type of natural events worldwide on an yearly scale proves that our understanding of flooding is still insufficient, flawed, and fragmented. This chapter intends to shed new light on a number of issues that deserve more comprehensive study in order to advance flood risk management. As a result, a new two-layer framework of vulnerability is proposed, which can lead to a better understanding of, and new approaches to, flood risk management.