As more of the world's population live in cities and with the clustering of cities along coastlines, transportation network disruptions from flooding or other natural disasters can have serious socioeconomic consequences. Stanford researchers sought to identify effects flooding would have on traffic delays and safety, as road closures rerouted vehicles to adjacent streets and neighborhoods. The study highlights challenges of preparing the traffic network in the Bay Area for climate change including those that do not encounter any flooding themselves. Some will encounter travel time delays and for some communities, an increase in accident rates which could outweigh the more direct physical damage to roads and infrastructure.