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Accepted Paper:

The act of remembering, 300 years of flood documentary data in the UK  
Marie-Jeanne Royer (Aberystwyth University)

Paper short abstract:

We propose that a systematic research through available archive records to identify and analyse flood proxy records can deepen the understanding of how and why such events become inscribed into memory; leading to more targeted risk communications and more successful adaptation programs.

Paper long abstract:

Climate change research has put into sharp focus the need for a strong understanding of flood events and their impacts on communities and individuals. Events are often inscribed to memory in the form of ideology, custom, behaviour, narrative, artefact, and technological and physical adaptation. Documentary proxy records help identify how societies have been affected by, adapted to, and conceptualized such past events. We propose that a systematic research through available archive records to identify and analyse flood proxy records can deepen the understanding of how and why such events become inscribed into an individual's or community's memory. Flood events are described in documents often with past floods given in comparison, leading to insights into the most memorable floods over time. Detailed descriptions allow us to see whether there is credence to the theory that flood events are more likely to be inscribed into local memory through the damage or social impacts they cause than their physical characteristics. Descriptions also often include local markers which identify the extent of the floods. The choice of these markers and their repeated use among inhabitants over long periods of time offers insight into spatial organisation and a region's lived space. This heritage can directly or indirectly influence the landscape and how people understand and respond to risk and uncertainty with respect to the timing and impact of future floods. Thus a better understanding of how and why events are inscribed in memory can lead to more targeted risk communications and more successful adaptation programs.

Panel P26
Extreme weather history: case studies from the UK and beyond
  Session 1