"Ever Heard Of 'Compound' Disasters? It's New To Experts, Too"

"In the 22 months since Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast, scientists have uncovered a variety of lessons about climate change.

One takeaway is the phenomenon known as "compound flooding," the idea that disasters can be influenced by more than one source of water at the same time.

Several studies have concluded that global warming likely boosted the hurricane's record levels of rainfall. Scientists have also pointed to the storm's unusual stalling behavior as a potential glimpse of the climate future, with some research suggesting that climate change may drive an increase in persistent, long-lasting weather systems.

But it was the storm's catastrophic flooding, driven by a combination of storm surge and river flooding forced by unprecedented rainfall, that may provide its most important lesson."

Chelsea Harvey reports for ClimateWire July 3, 2019.

Source: ClimateWire, 07/04/2019