Resilience to Climate Challenges: Avoid Rebuilding in High-Impact Areas of Postfire Debris Flow

Abstract

Debris flow is a deadly disaster occurring within the landforms of the debris catchment, the flow track, and the impact area. During the 2013 Colorado historic flood, highly impacted areas often involved postfire debris flows. The catastrophes in high-impact zones demonstrate site selection failures. Lack of knowledge also weakens the public’s awareness of potentially reoccurring debris flow. Current insurance policy requests to rebuild the house ‘like for like” the original one at the same high-impact spot could risk redestruction in future debris flow attacks. By combining field investigations with geomorphic analyses, this paper discusses the dangerous nature of postfire debris flows and their inevitability in specific landforms during heavy rainstorms. Thus, residents should avoid rebuilding in high-impact areas, and relocating to safer places is the most effective strategy to enhance mountain community resilience to current extreme weather.