By: Hamed Heyhat, Group Executive Vice President, CEO Water Utility

Devastating floods are becoming everyday occurrences in cities across the world. Driven by the mounting effects of climate change, human and economic costs are escalating, especially for already vulnerable populations, who bear the brunt of the impact.

According to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), over two million lives have been lost in the last 50 years due to weather, water, and climate-related hazards[1]. Experts warn that heavier, more frequent downpours, landslides, and unpredictable floods are becoming the “new normal”, demanding urgent adaptation and resilience strategies.

Sudden-onset events, such as flash floods, are especially frequent in densely populated cities, where impermeable surfaces, constrained drainage, and under-resourced flood management systems reduce warning times and heighten residents’ vulnerability. We are already seeing punishing consequences as floods deepen inequities, strain urban systems, and threaten livelihoods. The numbers are staggering and underscore the gravity of the situation.
 

People-centred smart cities: The path forward

Today is World Cities Day and this year’s theme, “People-Centred Smart Cities”, is a timely reminder: Resilience planning must place people at the heart of every decision. Increasing preparedness and taking early action to protect the most vulnerable can significantly reduce climate-related loss and damage. For example, investing just US$1 billion per year in early warning systems globally could cut disaster-related losses – including impacts on income and consumption – by as much as US$35 billion[2] annually.

Technology and innovation are vital tools to protect not just physical infrastructure, but livelihoods, human dignity, economic stability, and the long-term stability of rapidly urbanising societies.

While challenges remain, we are seeing cities respond with innovative solutions and collaborative action. Governments and local municipalities are leading the charge in building flood-resilience – demonstrating how proactive planning saves lives, protects communities, and reduces economic losses.

Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Urban Flood Resilience

After floodwaters reached a height of over six metres during the major Seine River floods in 2016, France enhanced its Seine Basin Flood Risk Management Plan under the EU Floods Directive. The plan included legally binding zoning restrictions to limit development in floodplains, investments in flood retention basins, and restoration of natural river floodplains to absorb floodwaters. This integrated legal-infrastructure approach received strong local and regional support for balancing urban development with flood risk mitigation.

Strengthening Defences After Crisis

After being hit by record-breaking floods in 2023 and again in August 2025 – the heaviest in 140 years, Hong Kong more than doubled its annual spending on stormwater drainage to US$407 million. Led by the Drainage Services Department, initiatives included mapping 240 blockage-prone drains, doubling emergency response teams, installing citywide flood-monitoring sensors, and piloting a machine-learning system to detect flooding from CCTV footage. Nine mobile pumping machines were deployed to rapidly clear blockages.

The government has earmarked an additional US$38.3 million to further strengthen defences against extreme rain, rising seas, and storm surges.

Private Sector Action Is Key to Minimising Loss and Cost

Though government action is essential in building resilient infrastructure, the private sector must also step up and play its part. Businesses contribute resources, expertise, and on-the-ground solutions, driving faster and more effective interventions, which reduce disruption, protect assets, and safeguard communities. Flood resilience is not just an operational concern – it is a shared responsibility that extends to every organization involved in city infrastructure.

As part of Grundfos, a leader in advanced pump solutions and water technology, I am extremely proud of how we have embraced this responsibility with great commitment, by contributing practical flood control solutions that make a real difference. One example is the role that the Grundfos storm water pumping station played in the City of Pasadena, which had been plagued by a flooding issue for years. The pumps efficiently moved more than 30,000 gallons of floodwater per minute for approximately five hours – keeping the city’s Beltway 8 highway clear and safe.

We are also proud to have played a role in Copenhagen, after a massive cloudburst flooded the city and brought half a meter of water to the low-lying Vesterbro neighbourhood and neighbouring municipality of Frederiksberg. In response, we worked alongside the city’s water utilities to build a series of cloudburst flood control projects to minimise the future damage from flooding.

These are prime examples that demonstrate how collaborative efforts by governments and the private sector can lead to far-reaching outcomes, making cities safer, more resilient, and better prepared to protect communities and vital infrastructure.

Act Now to Future-Proof Our Cities

Flood challenges will not be going away. In 2025 alone, we have seen climate change intensify floods across the region, threatening lives, infrastructure, and economic stability. Addressing these challenges requires collective action – across governments, businesses, and communities – to strengthen resilience and rethink how our cities manage water.

At Grundfos, collaboration is central to this mission. Through the Water Safe Cities Programme with C40 Cities, the Grundfos Foundation has, since 2020, worked to map regional challenges, quantify the impacts of water-related risks, and accelerate sustainable water management in cities. The next phase of the programme will focus on three critical areas: delivering water-safe solutions, mainstreaming multi-sector collaboration, and driving a global movement for city action on water resilience – all of which reflects our belief that protecting communities, limiting economic losses, and safeguarding critical infrastructure can be achieved by doubling down on proactive, preventative measures that combine government planning, private sector action, and innovative technology.

The time for action is now! Let’s work together to build resilient, people-centred cities. That way we are not just preparing for the next storm, but for the future.

[1] Al Jazeera - UN pushes for worldwide disaster alerts as extreme weather ‘spirals’

[2] World Bank - Unbreakable: Building the Resilience of the Poor in the Face of Natural Disasters