Cascading Impacts of Sequential Flood Events

Sequential flood events in the Southern U.S. reveal cascading impacts that extend beyond the additive effects of individual disasters, fundamentally altering recovery dynamics and economic outcomes. This study examines how flood recurrence patterns and intervals influence escalating losses, identifying tipping points where resilience begins to erode. Shorter intervals between floods and increasing rainfall intensity in subsequent events are linked to progressively severe impacts, highlighting the compounding nature of these disasters. Recovery becomes increasingly challenging as vulnerabilities deepen over time, creating a cycle of entrenched risks. These findings suggest that once a threshold is crossed, recovery trajectories become exponentially more challenging, and the resilience of infrastructure, communities, and economies begins to erode. The repeated exposure to flood events creates a cycle where vulnerabilities become more entrenched over time. Addressing these dynamics requires a proactive risk management framework that accounts for cascading vulnerabilities, emphasizes early intervention before thresholds are breached, and prioritizes long-term resilience planning. This study advocates for a paradigm shift in disaster governance to move beyond isolated event-focused strategies and embrace temporal compounding perspectives for sustainable and equitable flood management.