Great Lakes Now in collaboration with Ideastream Public Media explores the role of climate change in unprecedented flooding incidents and what communities can do to prepare and protect themselves moving forward. 

Join the town hall tonight at 7 p.m. ET on 

Great Lakes Now’s Facebook page

Flooding has been impacting an increasing number of areas in recent years, overwhelming existing infrastructure, and causing an average of $4.6 billion per event. 

For example, in June 2021, Detroit was pummeled by 6 inches of rain, inundating the city’s infrastructure and water sewage systems, forcing the governor to declare a state of emergency. Freeways, neighborhood streets, homes and businesses flooded. Cars were abandoned in rivers along the freeway while parked vehicles drifted down city streets, carried by the stormwater filled with tree limbs and debris. 

A year later, Detroit homeowners were still cleaning up the flooding damage to their homes from the historic rain event. Then in April 2023, the effects of climate change were even more evident. For example, in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood on Detroit’s lower east side, overflowing stormwater drains, contaminated waterways and flooded basements exemplify how the city’s aging infrastructure continues to struggle to keep up with our changing climate.   

Tonight at 7 p.m., Great Lakes Now and Ideastream Public Media host a PBS Climate Virtual Town Hall focused on flooding. Ideastream’s Zaria Johnson moderates a panel discussion with experts in climate adaptation, flooding preparedness, equity and infrastructure. 

Featured guests include:

• Beth Gibbons | Social Governance and National Resilience Lead at Farallon Strategies who is an advocate for the improvement of the community of practice of climate adaptation and resilience at all levels of society
• Kari Lydersen | Chicago-based reporter, author and journalism instructor who specializes in energy, the environment, labor, public health and immigration issues. Kari recently wrote an introductory piece in a six-part collaborative series entitled, “Inundated: Flooding and Vulnerable Communities in the Great Lakes Region.”

·       Sara Hughes | University of Michigan Associate Professor focused on policy agendas, analysis, and governance processes. Sara also looks at the impact and scope of decisions about water resources and climate change mitigation.

In addition to expert voices, this town hall also features video content from the PBS Digital Studios’ Weathered series related to the science behind extreme drought and floods, along with a segment from Detroit Public TV’s One Detroit exploring the impact of historic flooding in Detroit. 

This event is made possible through a climate programming collaboration between PBS and Detroit Public Television to present climate content at both the national and local levels, including 20 PBS stations nationwide.