Multidimensional flood risk management under climate changes: Bibliometric analysis, trends and strategic guidelines for decision-making in urban dynamics

The inevitability of more frequent and more extensive floods, phenomena that display one aspect of the inherent variability of Nature, has been increasingly accepted by managers and policymakers. Climate changes due to global warming add considerable complexity to dealing with flooding, since increases in average temperature alter the patterns and intensity of precipitation. Thus, adverse events arising from natural hazards have tended to become even more frequent and their impacts more severe. Consequently, urban centers face a huge challenge and statistics already show the urgent need for all levels of government to review the adequacy of their plans for anticipating and combating extreme events. Therefore, this paper undertakes a systematic review of the literature, using well-founded and established search strategies, in order to determine the state-of-the-art as presented in 52 peer-reviewed articles strategically selected from two main sources of scientific data. Cross-matching important research metrics from these papers has enabled two axes of discussion to be detailed in this article: a bibliometric analysis and a content analysis. Among many findings, those that stand out are the lack of a formal methodology for climate modeling and the use and sharing of GIS tools, these being key-factors for developing new ways of visualizing risk. Finally, some guidelines for decision-making are put forward in order to share insights and to provide DMs, scholars, experts, stakeholders, and other professionals with an overall background of managerial aspects when engaging on applying flood risk management in urban areas.