Dr Laura Devitt

PhD Thesis: Estimating flood risk under climate change: Exploring the use of different data and methods, and their uncertainties, to estimate extreme flood hazard at various scales

PhD Supervisors: Dr Jeff Neal, Professor Thorsten Wagener (University of Potsdam) and Dr Gemma Coxon

Laura was a PhD research student on the WISE CDT programme between 2018-2023 and was based at the University of Bristol.  She successfully defended her PhD thesis – entitled ‘Estimating flood risk under climate change: Exploring the use of different data and methods, and their uncertainties, to estimate extreme flood hazard at various scales’ – on 4th December 2023.

Laura is currently a Research Associate within the University of Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences, employed on the FUTURE-FLOOD project.

Research Interests

Laura’s main research interest is in estimating flood risk under climate change and understanding uncertainties and variability in impact assessments. During her PhD, she estimated the uncertainty in estimating extreme flow magnitudes, analysed the sensitivity of flooding and population exposure to variability in flood magnitudes, and used high resolution CPM climate projections to investigate future high river flows.

Her current project (FUTURE-FLOOD) aims to deliver new understanding and innovative methods for estimating climate change impacts on future flood risk across the UK using UKCP local climate projections. This project will work closely with the UK Met Office and provide important information for decision-makers, city planners, and flood management practitioners.