Exploring drought-to-flood interactions and dynamics: A global case review

This study synthesizes the current understanding of the hydrological, impact, and adaptation processes underlying drought-to-flood events (i.e., consecutive drought and flood events), and how they interact. Based on an analysis of literature and a global assessment of historic cases, the authors show how drought can affect flood risk and assess under which circumstances drought-to-flood interactions can lead to increased or decreased risk.

The findings state that drought can increase subsequent flood occurrence and severity due to increased surface runoff, but it can alsodecrease subsequent flooding due to storage depletion. There is little evidence as to which process may generally bedominant. Storage depletion processes seem to be more prevalent in arid places, as well as in broader and flatter valleycatchments and places with deeper soils or more groundwater variability.