Abstract
Abstract. The risk of flooding around the world is large and increasing, yet in many areas there is still a difficulty in engaging the public with their own flood risk. Geomorphology is a science that is linked to flooding and can exacerbate risks, but awareness of the science with the public is low and declining within academia. To increase awareness, it is important to engage the public directly with the science and those who are working to reduce flood risks – this starts by inspiring people to seek out further information through positive experiences of the science and researchers. Here, a new design model is presented to engage the public with specific research projects by using useful components offered by the popular mediums of games, virtual reality (VR), and science festivals to allow the public to get “hands on” with research data and models: SeriousGeoGames. A SeriousGeoGames activity, Flash Flood!, was developed around real geomorphology survey data to help engage the public with a flood-risk-related research project by placing them in a river valley as it undergoes a geomorphically active flooding from an intense rainfall event. Flash Flood! was exhibited at two science-focussed events, and formal evaluation was captured using a short questionnaire, finding that the majority of audience had a positive interaction (95.1 %) and wanted to know more about flooding (68.0 %) and geomorphology (60.1 %). It is hoped these interactions will increase the likelihood that future engagements with relevant agencies will be more fruitful, especially when it matters most.
Highlights
IntroductionThe UK’s Environment Agency estimates that 5.2 million homes are at risk of flooding yet less than 10 % of those consider themselves at risk (Curtin, 2017)
Flooding is a first-order risk around the world, and the UK is no exception
This paper presents a case study of the Flash Flood! application, an interactive virtual reality (VR) activity designed to highlight the geomorphic risk posed by flooding from intense rainfall, more commonly known as flash flooding
Summary
The UK’s Environment Agency estimates that 5.2 million homes are at risk of flooding yet less than 10 % of those consider themselves at risk (Curtin, 2017). Geomorphic processes can increase the impact of flood events through erosion of the channel and banks, including scouring around infrastructure such as bridges and the transport of material that can make flood waters more damaging. Geomorphic processes contribute to the likelihood of flooding with erosion and deposition altering a river channel’s capacity to hold water or even changing the course of the river itself. Geomorphology is a key part of many pressing environmental issues, such as flooding (Lane et al, 2007; Slater, 2016), soil erosion
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