Uneven experiences of urban flooding: the 2010 Nashville flood

Abstract:

Forecasts suggest that due to global climate change, the southeast United States will see an increase of intense precipitation events with similar impacts globally. While extreme precipitation has been well studied in the field of meteorology, its impact on specific communities, particularly in the United States, has received less attention. Although Tennessee experiences extreme precipitation and flooding, with one event resulting in over $2 billion in damage and 26 fatalities in August 2010, little attention has sought to examine the uneven impacts of the flooding on different populations. Guided by social vulnerability and hazards methodologies established by Cutter (2003), this study employs a spatial analysis of the 2010 Nashville flood to investigate the composition of vulnerable populations. The American Community Survey (ACS) data at census block level is used to overlay imagery and flood observations with historical redlining maps to assess who is most impacted by extreme flooding and the historical context of those areas. Preliminary results from a principle component analysis of the ACS data in Nashville suggest that people below the poverty line, with a disability, of Hispanic or Latinx origin, of two or more races, and women may be among the most vulnerable. Future research on flooding and marginalization should examine the ways in which these vulnerable populations experience extreme events and the resulting outcomes, especially within the urban context.