Abstract Sea level variability is driven by a combination of processes, including gravitational forces, ocean currents, and winds. This study investigates the contributions of offshore and local wind direction and magnitude to non-tidal residual (NTR) corrected for global mean sea level rise and local vertical land movements along the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and their implications for coastal flooding. Daily mean sea level and local wind data from eighteen National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tide gauges were analysed alongside offshore wind data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) reanalysis. Wind velocity fields were decomposed into 12 directional components (0° to 165°) relative to the coastline to evaluate the directional influence of wind on sea level variability. Annual correlation analyses were conducted to analyse the relationship between wind forcing and sea level variability at each station. Our results indicate that local winds have a negligible impact on sea level variability, regardless of their direction. In contrast, offshore winds account for 30–50% of the variability at ten stations, 15–30% at four stations, and less than 15% at the remaining four stations. Each station exhibited a dominant range of wind directions. Additionally, we identified a regional wind pattern that is temporally correlated with the occurrences of extreme high and low NTR events. These findings highlight the significant influence of offshore winds on coastal sea levels, emphasizing the need for coastal flood mitigation strategies to incorporate offshore wind patterns into risk assessments.

Abstract As sea levels continue to rise, coastal non-storm flooding, i.e. flooding which occurs without rainfall or storm induced wave and surge, is becoming a frequent hazard in coastal communities. Despite its growing impact, this type of flooding is often overlooked in flood risk management. Non-storm flooding is characterized in multiple ways in the risk management literature, including as “nuisance flooding”, “high-tide flooding”, or “sunny-day flooding”. To understand how local coastal managers define and respond to non-storm flooding, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 flood risk management practitioners on the United States’ central Atlantic coastline across North and South Carolina. Participants responded to questions on local terminology, flooding drivers, impacts, and adaptation strategies. Findings show that coastal non-storm flooding is primarily driven by tides though secondary drivers and the nature of local flood impacts vary widely across communities with major impacts concentrated in micro-scale hotspots, particularly low-lying, creek-adjacent, and historic neighborhoods. Transportation disruption and service interruption emerge as dominant impacts, often occurring without major structural damage. Current adaptation strategies often rely on tidal valves, pump stations, and regulatory flood maps, which frequently fail to capture localized and compound flooding processes. Together, these findings reveal a misalignment between chronic non-storm flooding risks and existing flood risk management frameworks. Addressing this gap requires locally grounded terminology, micro-scale assessments, and evaluation approaches that account for cumulative disruption beyond physical property damage.

Abstract Urban flooding is an increasingly critical challenge under climate change, driven by intensifying precipitation, land use change, and deepening social vulnerability. This study presents a combined, high-resolution framework to characterize and map current and future urban flood risk in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area (IMA). We combine probabilistic hazard modeling using stochastic precipitation simulations, physically based surface runoff estimation, and a composite flood risk index (CFRI) that integrates social poverty vulnerability and exposure. By capturing the full range of plausible rainfall scenarios, this approach provides a spatially explicit, comparative assessment of how interactions between these components may shift under future climate and socioeconomic scenarios. Results reveal that climate change will substantially intensify and redistribute flood risk across the IMA, particularly under the RCP 8.5–SSP5 scenario. Very-high CFRI zones increase sevenfold by century’s end, with significant new risk emerging in previously low-risk suburban areas, while poverty-driven vulnerability deepens in peripheral communities. These findings highlight the limitations of hazard-only assessments and underscore the importance of integrating socioeconomic dimensions and uncertainty into urban flood risk analyses. The resulting high-resolution risk maps can guide policymakers in targeting adaptation investments, prioritizing vulnerable populations, and designing equitable resilience strategies that respond to both current and future risk dynamics.

Abstract Information voids have been anecdotally marked as a precursor to outbreaks of misinformation during health and climate crises but remain an empirically untested phenomenon. Understanding the public’s information needs and identifying voids is critical if disaster risk communication must preserve lives and livelihoods during climate emergencies. This paper conceptualizes and tests a novel survey tool designed to detect information voids across four key dimensions: information quantity, quality, source, and channel. Following major climate emergencies in 2024, a series of quantitative, online cross-sectional surveys were conducted in four countries, with a total of 897 respondents. The study aimed to assess the reliability and sensitivity of the tool in identifying gaps in information during climate crises. Study 1 in Belgium (n = 202) detected information voids across all dimensions after Storm Boris ( p < .001). Study 2 demonstrated the ability of the tool to detect information voids in other geographical contexts [Germany (n = 197) and Poland (n = 191)] during similar flooding events (both p < 0.01). Study 3 confirmed the tool’s ability to detect information voids across all dimensions in the context of a different climate emergency: Hurricane Helene in Florida, USA (n = 307) ( p < 0.01). Our findings demonstrate the potential of the survey to generate rapid evidence around information gaps and deliver detailed, actionable insights to improve disaster communication during emergencies in various regions. We discuss implications for addressing misinformation and disinformation during climate emergencies, as well as strategies for enhancing flood (disaster) risk communication and management.