In the summer of 2022, 20 islands in the Maldives were flooded when a distant swell event in the Indian Ocean coincided with an extremely high tide level.
A new and detailed analysis of that incident, compiled using fieldwork and computer modelling, has shown it to be a relatively rare occurrence with the worst flooding seen in the region since the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004.
However, scientists have warned that future predicted rises in sea levels, potentially coupled with an increase in extreme weather events and wave conditions, could result in such flooding becoming far more common, perhaps happening every two to three years by around 2050.
It has led them to call on authorities in the Maldives, and other low-lying island nations, to urgently identify, evaluate and implement adaptation strategies to mitigate against the adverse impacts of flooding without delay.
The research, published in the journal Coastal Futures, was carried out by researchers from the University of Plymouth and Deltares, a not-for-profit applied research institute in the Netherlands, as part of the ARISE project, a £2.8million programme supported by UK Research and Innovation.
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