Frances Davenport

Severe precipitation and flooding cause tens of billions of dollars in damages and thousands of fatalities globally each year, with these numbers expected to grow in the future. My research combines methods from geophysics, hydrology, and economics to understand the physical processes and socio-economic factors that determine risks of flooding, and how flooding is affected by climate change. For example, I am developing an empirical model of the relationship between precipitation and flood damage in order to estimate flooding costs due to climate change. The goal of my research is to inform more effective flood risk management and support policy decisions regarding climate change adaptation.