The impacts of climate change and intensive human activity (such as rapid urbanisation) have led to more frequent and severe natural hazard-induced disasters – including storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves, landslides and debris flows. Disaster risk reduction is, therefore, crucial for sustainable socio-economic development worldwide.
Against this backdrop, Professor Qiuhua Liang at Loughborough University established the Hydro-Environmental Modelling Laboratory for Natural Hazard Risk and Resilience (HEMLab), a research team focused on the development and application of high-performance modelling and data analytics tools to support natural hazard risk assessment and management. This was followed by the establishment of the UNESCO Chair in Informatics and Multi-hazard Risk Reduction and the International Centre for Informatics and Disaster Resilience (ICIDR). Together, the Chair and Centre aim to develop innovative tools for multi-hazard risk management, while enhancing global research capacity and influencing policies and engineering practices to create a national and global impact.
Recently, the team’s work on the High-Performance Integrated Hydrodynamic Modelling System (HiPIMS) has been recognised and featured by the UK Environment Agency as a case study of how research investment can make an impact in managing flood risk.
Read the full case study on GOV.UK.
Developed over the past two decades by Professor Qiuhua Liang and the team at Loughborough University, HiPIMS is an open-source flood modelling tool designed to better predict and understand flooding using high-performance computing. It has been successfully applied across the UK and internationally – including in China, Nepal, and central Europe – to support flood risk mapping and forecasting, demonstrating the real-world impact of our research in managing flood risk.
Moreover, HiPIMS has received several prestigious awards, including the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water in 2024 recognising its innovation and impact. The award honours the development of pioneering, open-source, multi-GPU hydrodynamic models that support real-time flood forecasting at high temporal and spatial resolutions.
This recognition by the UK Environment Agency highlights Loughborough University’s global leadership in disaster risk research and our commitment to delivering real-world impact through innovative science. It also reflects our dedication to turning cutting-edge research into practical solutions that build resilience and safeguard communities worldwide.