Climate change has led to increased frequency, intensity,and duration of extreme weather events, e.g., intense rainfall,heat waves, droughts, and storm surges, worsened byrapid population growth and urbanization at the global scale.Evidence can be found in the exceptional number of unprecedentedweather extremes and the resulting naturalhazards, especially flooding, as seen in the last few decades.For example, the UK has experienced numerous storms andsevere floods in the last decade, particularly in 2007, 2012,and 2015, with 2012 being recorded as the second wettestyear in the UK and the wettest ever in England. Theseevents have resulted in lives lost and tremendous economicdamage. The UK is not alone. Similarly unusual weatherevents have been reported across the globe. In China,different types of flooding threaten 1/10 of the country’stotal area, millions of hectares of farmland, and over 100large cities, making it one of the most vulnerable countriesto flooding.