Cyclone surge exposure - 2022

This dataset includes an estimation of the annual physical exposition to surges from cyclones. It is based on three sources: 1) COAST-RP: A global COastal dAtaset of Storm Tide Return Periods. Storm surges that occur along low-lying, densely populated coastlines can leave devastating societal, economical, and ecological impacts. To protect coastal communities from flooding, return periods of storm tides, defined as the combination of the surge and tide, must be accurately evaluated. Here we present storm tide return periods using a novel integration of two modelling techniques. For surges induced by extratropical cyclones, we use a 38-year time series based on the ERA5 climate reanalysis. For surges induced by tropical cyclones, we use synthetic tropical cyclones from the STORM dataset representing 10,000 years under current climate conditions. Tropical and extratropical cyclone surge levels are probabilistically combined with tidal levels, and return periods are computed empirically. The COAST-RP dataset contains storm tide levels representing the 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000-year return period. 2) MERIT Hydro is a global hydrography datasets, developed based on the MERIT DEM and multiple inland water maps. It contains flow direction, flow accumulation, hydrologically adjusted elevations, and river channel width. Yamazaki D., D. Ikeshima, J. Sosa, P.D. Bates, G.H. Allen, T.M. Pavelsky MERIT Hydro: A high-resolution global hydrography map based on latest topography datasets Water Resources Research, vol.55, pp.5053-5073, 2019, doi: 10.1029/2019WR024873 3) Population density map (HRSL-GSHL) 2022. The layer integrates data from the High Resolution Settlement Layer (HRSL) - META (originally Facebook), the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) - JRC, and the national population count for 2018 reported on the World Population Prospects 2019. Pixel counts are recalculated for 2022 based on the country population data reported for 2022 by the World Population Prospects 2019.