During major floodings, relentless streams of water endanger people’s lives at home, disrupting roads and infrastructure and rendering hospitals inaccessible. When that happens, other hospitals need to cover a larger area and a greater influx of patients, like during the Covid-19 pandemic. Risks that emerge are damages to water supply and illnesses due to stagnant water. This is where prevention of floodings and pandemics are interrelated. Maria Pregnolato and Bas Jonkman, both active members of the 4TU.Resilience Engineering community, contribute to a new research project with their expertise in floods and water management, adding another relevant perspective to disaster and pandemic preparedness.
This article dives in the international experiences and backgrounds of Maria Pregnolato and Bas Jonkman to learn how they work in resilience engineering with a focus on flood disaster preparedness.