International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development

Advances in Monitoring and Modelling of Compound Flooding in Coastal Urban Areas

Coastal urban areas are increasingly exposed to compound flooding resulting from the convergence of multiple factors, including sea level rise, tidal forcing, groundwater, and stormwater runoff. Climate change and rapid urbanization have further intensified these risks, increasing the frequency, severity, and extent of flood impacts. Accurately estimating the likelihood of compound flood events and understanding the complex interactions driving them are essential to identify vulnerable communities and to design protecting infrastructure.

In response to challenges posed by sea-level rise and extreme rainfall, experts have developed various protective strategies for the sustainable development of coastal urban areas. These include engineered solutions like surge barriers and floodwalls, as well as nature-based flood mitigation approaches. However, assessing these measures' effectiveness and environmental impact remains complex. To address this, researchers are developing advanced monitoring techniques and sophisticated mathematical models. These tools aim to integrate coastal, hydrological, and groundwater dynamics, enabling more accurate predictions. Extensive data collection supports the creation and validation of these models to provide robust support for risk management across various sectors and geographical scales.

The goal of this Article Collection is therefore to provide a platform on the advances in monitoring and modelling of compound flooding in coastal urban areas. We seek manuscripts on coastal and hydrological modelling, monitoring, protection system design, and risk management. With the aim to highlight the diverse perspectives on water-related challenges in coastal urban areas, we encourage studies examining flooding's environmental impact and engineered solutions.

Papers analyzing coastal urban hydrology through observations, simulations, or engineering approaches are especially welcome.

In particular, we encourage the submission of articles on the subtopics:

1. Development of integrated models to simulate and assess compound flooding and make projections of future flood risk under climate and land-use change.
2. The application of AI on monitoring and modelling of compound flooding.
3. Evaluation of adaptation strategies, including green infrastructure and flood-resilient design.
4. Sensor networks for coastal monitoring including satellite data.
5. The impact of flooding on the environment and human health.
6. The interaction between aging infrastructure and natural water bodies in urban areas.

Keywords:

1. Coastal urban hydrology modelling
2. Flood monitoring
3. Compound flooding modelling
4. Flood mitigation
5. Interaction between infrastructure and natural water bodies

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisors for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is November 6, 2026.

Please contact Kara Roberts ([email protected]) with any queries regarding APCs or discount codes for this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Valentina Prigiobbe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padua (Italy). Valentina Prigiobbe graduated in Environmental and Territorial Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. She holds two a Ph.D., one in urban hydrology from the University of Rome Tor Vergata and IRSA-CNR and another in CO2 storage from ETH Zurich. Her research interests are in the areas of flow and transport in porous media, particulate processes, and urban hydrology where she integrates modeling and experimentation and field observation across scales.

Amrutha Suresh is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alabama Water Institute, The University of Alabama, USA. She worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Padua, Italy, and as a Research Scientist at the National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India. She holds a Ph.D. in Water Resources Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. Her research interests are in hydrometeorological extremes, urban hydrology, flood mitigation strategies, the application of statistical methods in hydrology, and remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Mahla Tajari is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, Italy. She worked as a Researcher at the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, and as a Project Assistant at the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF). She holds a Ph.D. in Hydraulic Structures from the University of Tehran, Iran. Her research interests are in urban hydrology, surface–subsurface interactions, hyporheic exchange processes, river hydraulics, sediment transport,  process-based numerical modelling, and managing flooding under a changing climate.

The Guest Advisors declare no potential conflicts of interests in line with our Editorial Policies.