Research Summary: A population-level assessment framework for flood-related wellbeing from public discourse in Ireland

Ireland faces significant pluvial and fluvial flood risk, which is being intensified by climate change, leading to increased heavy rainfall and compound flood events. The consequences extend beyond direct physical and economic damage to broader societal impacts. A novel framework has been developed to assess flood-related wellbeing through unobtrusive public discourse over time, focusing on distress, functional disruption, and institutional alienation.

Why it matters

This framework offers a new lens for understanding the broader societal impact of climate-induced events beyond traditional metrics. By capturing public sentiment and indirect consequences, it enables more comprehensive risk assessment and informs strategies for building community resilience and effective institutional responses to environmental challenges.

Key insights

• Ireland's geographical location exposes it to substantial flood risk from abundant precipitation and frequent low-pressure systems.
• Climate change is intensifying heavy rainfall and the risk of compound flooding in Ireland.
• The impacts of flooding are not limited to physical damage and economic indicators, but also affect public wellbeing.
• A new framework assesses flood-related wellbeing using public discourse.
• The assessment framework employs three constructs: distress, functional disruption, and institutional alienation, to capture affective appraisal and daily life impacts.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03334