Siying Chen and Mei Ai participated in the 35th International Geographical Congress (IGC) 2024. It was held at Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland, from 24 to 30 August. The members presented their latest research findings, sparking insightful discussions.

Siying Chen did an oral presentation about an ancient flood case study in the “C.05: Climatology: Historical Climatology I” session on 27th August. The study focused on the catastrophic flood that occurred in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in 1870, examining how local societies responded to the disaster and how social resilience played a role in this process.

Mei Ai did an oral presentation in session C.22: “Hazard and Risk” on Thursday, 29th August. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the flood management system in the Tea Horse Road (THR) region, while also summarizing community-level place-based resilience measures. Document review and ethnographic surveys were conducted from July to September 2023, which provided first-hand data for the study. The learnings from this framework provide insights into sources of indigenous community flood resilience, helping to develop resilience indicator systems and improve effective flood resilience.

They also participated in field trips to explore Ireland’s flood management practices. Scholars from the University of Galway led an excursion showcasing successful resilience-building in coastal socio-ecological systems. The group visited an effective urban beach-dune Nature-based Solution (NbS) site, and then observed the use of Reusable Water Filled Inflatable Dams for flood control along the River Corrib. This hands-on experience highlighted innovative approaches to managing floods while preserving natural ecosystems.