KTU professor on floods in the UAE: climate change forces to adjust urban infrastructure

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hit by the heaviest rainfall in the last 75 years. The local administration claims that the country received about one and a half year’s worth of rain per day. Heavy rains caused flooding in the country and disrupted the operation of the international airport in the desert city of Dubai. It is clear that smart solutions are becoming an inevitable part of urban development.

“The consequences clearly show the inadequacy or absence of certain systems in the respective areas. In the case of a specific flood, flow equalization tanks, reservoirs, and pools could be installed, enriching them with smart solutions. This is a fairly common practice in Lithuania,” says Darius Pupeikis, professor of the Faculty of Construction and Architecture of the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU SAF), head of the Center for Smart Cities and Infrastructure, and civil engineer about the engineering infrastructure of the smart city Dubai.

Combining intelligent and engineering solutions

D. Pupeikis assesses the huge floods in the smart city of Dubai with a grain of anxiety. According to him, it is obvious that the climate is warming and that is causing the unusual anomalies of natural phenomena.

Speaking about smart cities, the KTU professor says that they include more than 80 criteria, but in the context of these phenomena, it is important to pay attention to warning systems, to have digital models of the built environment, on the basis of which simulations of floods and other phenomena could be carried out. On that basis, plans and preventive measures are created, “what ifs” are prepared. what if) scripts.

“Climate change affects smart cities in the same way as all other cities, but smart solutions make it possible to install appropriate warning systems, perform preventive actions, react proactively, for example, to simulate the formation of natural phenomena and the resulting effects on the city’s infrastructure and people”, – says D. Pupeikis.

The interviewer notes that the development of cities increases the load on the existing infrastructure, so smart solutions must be combined with engineering solutions. In his opinion, smart engineering infrastructure can effectively manage these types of elements and ensure resilience.

The KTU professor explains that the rain and surface sewage systems are additionally loaded due to the increased area of ​​non-conductive surfaces (for example, asphalt concrete, concrete tiles, pavers), so when a significant amount of precipitation falls, the systems may no longer cope.

He adds that in such cases, engineering solutions (for example, flow equalization tanks, ponds) should be combined, which would accumulate the suddenly falling excess amount of rainwater, with smart solutions that would warn of the rising water level, enable people to evacuate, take proactive decisions or actions .

“The said infrastructure is being designed according to standards that climate change obviously forces to adjust. “Deserts are hit by heavy rains, and cold regions have to put up with melting glaciers, which create their own consequences,” observes D. Pupeikis.

Lithuanian cities are not prepared for natural disasters

The KTU professor shares that it is especially important for politicians to pay attention to the need for adequate infrastructure, enriching it with smart solutions. D. Pupeikis notes that, unfortunately, the requirement to have rainwater systems in Lithuania appeared only a few years ago.

“The criteria of smart cities significantly include the United Nations sustainable development goals, which condition both social equality and the right to a safe environment, clean water and other relevant aspects in this context. I believe that cities must be developed by ensuring the necessary engineering infrastructure and making decisions that benefit the entire society, regardless of their social status,” the interviewee says about the influence of income on the place of residence.

He claims that strategically and politically, cities should collect more data, perform more simulations, assessments, calculations about impending dangers, so that investments are targeted and the effects caused by natural elements are prevented.

“Even in a rich country like the UAE, no one predicted that there could be such a danger. We all see the consequences. A winter or snowfall in Dubai would also have catastrophic consequences and I don’t think the city is ready for that. In general, politicians can collect more data, perform more simulations, install warning systems, use scientists and engineers to ensure critical infrastructure,” says D. Pupeikis.

According to the KTU professor, Lithuanian cities are not prepared for various natural disasters. He doubts whether we have plans for how to respond in such cases. For example, how would a flood develop in the event of an ice pack or what would happen in the event of an accident at the Kaunas hydroelectric power plant.

According to D. Pupeikis, examples in Vilnius due to insufficient permeability of the rain collection system or flooding in Kaunas district. at Radikii shows our vulnerable places and insufficient attention, because we only worry when the disaster has already happened.

“I would think that the challenges related to natural phenomena will only increase in the future. As the climate warms, it creates collisions between warm and cold air masses, which leads to natural disasters for which we must prepare in advance,” says KTU professor D. Pupeikis.

Press release