Coping With Flash Floods


Book Description

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Ravello, Italy, 8-17 November 1999




Cities and Flooding


Book Description

Urban flooding is an increasing challenge today to the expanding cities and towns of developing countries. This Handbook is a state-of-the art, user-friendly operational guide that shows decision makers and specialists how to effectively manage the risk of floods in rapidly urbanizing settings--and within the context of a changing climate.




Urban Flood Management


Book Description

Over the last decades the world has witnessed a growing number of floods in urban areas. Climate change and rapid urbanization will exacerbate this trend. Flooding incidents in urbanized catchments and low-lying areas, such as polders, can lead to great public concern and anxiety, and their economical impact is severe. Apart from well-known flood prevention strategies, new approaches to the accommodation of floods are needed to create robust and sustainable solutions that enable us to cope with the ever-increasing urban pressure on flood-prone areas and the uncertainties created by climate change. Urban Flood Management comprises a multidisciplinary survey of recent developments in this field. Subjects like spatial and urban planning, flood insurance, flood resilience, flood proofing techniques, risk perception and preparedness and flood forecasting are treated by authorities from Brazil, India, the USA and Europe. Urban Flood Management will provide anyone active in the fields of water, risk and urban management with the latest information and insights that were obtained with a global and multidisciplinary approach.




Advances in Urban Flood Management


Book Description

One of the effects of global climate change is the increasing variability of extreme flood events and cyclones. Current measures to mitigate flood impacts, particularly in the urban environment, are based on previously-planned flood risk intervals and no longer provide sufficient protection. Being prepared for unexpected changes and extreme flood events asks for a paradigm shift in current strategies to avoid and manage flood disasters. In order to stem the increasing impact of urban floods, a major rethink of current planning and flood management policies and practice is required, taking into account different spatial and temporal scales. This book addresses a broad spectrum of relevant issues in the emerging field of urban flood management. It may act as a stimulus for further research and development in urban flood management while informing and engaging stakeholders in the promotion of integrated and cooperative approaches in water management. An interdisciplinary approach which will be of interest to all those who are active in water, risk and urban management.




Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States


Book Description

Flooding is the natural hazard with the greatest economic and social impact in the United States, and these impacts are becoming more severe over time. Catastrophic flooding from recent hurricanes, including Superstorm Sandy in New York (2012) and Hurricane Harvey in Houston (2017), caused billions of dollars in property damage, adversely affected millions of people, and damaged the economic well-being of major metropolitan areas. Flooding takes a heavy toll even in years without a named storm or event. Major freshwater flood events from 2004 to 2014 cost an average of $9 billion in direct damage and 71 lives annually. These figures do not include the cumulative costs of frequent, small floods, which can be similar to those of infrequent extreme floods. Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States contributes to existing knowledge by examining real-world examples in specific metropolitan areas. This report identifies commonalities and variances among the case study metropolitan areas in terms of causes, adverse impacts, unexpected problems in recovery, or effective mitigation strategies, as well as key themes of urban flooding. It also relates, as appropriate, causes and actions of urban flooding to existing federal resources or policies.




Wadi Flash Floods


Book Description

This open access book brings together research studies, developments, and application-related flash flood topics on wadi systems in arid regions. The major merit of this comprehensive book is its focus on research and technical papers as well as case study applications in different regions worldwide that cover many topics and answer several scientific questions. The book chapters comprehensively and significantly highlight different scientific research disciplines related to wadi flash floods, including climatology, hydrological models, new monitoring techniques, remote sensing techniques, field investigations, international collaboration projects, risk assessment and mitigation, sedimentation and sediment transport, and groundwater quality and quantity assessment and management. In this book, the contributing authors (engineers, researchers, and professionals) introduce their recent scientific findings to develop suitable, applicable, and innovative tools for forecasting, mitigation, and water management as well as society development under seven main research themes as follows: Part 1. Wadi Flash Flood Challenges and Strategies Part 2. Hydrometeorology and Climate Changes Part 3. Rainfall–Runoff Modeling and Approaches Part 4. Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Part 5. Reservoir Sedimentation and Sediment Yield Part 6. Groundwater Management Part 7. Application and Case Studies The book includes selected high-quality papers from five series of the International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems (ISFF) that were held in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 in Japan, Egypt, Oman, Morocco, and Japan, respectively. These collections of chapters could provide valuable guidance and scientific content not only for academics, researchers, and students but also for decision-makers in the MENA region and worldwide.




Repairing Your Flooded Home


Book Description

When in doubt, throw it out. Don't risk injury or infection. 2: Ask for help. Many people can do a lot of the cleanup and repairs discussed in this book. But if you have technical questions or do not feel comfortable doing something, get professional help. If there is a federal disaster declaration, a telephone "hotline" will often be publicized to provide information about public, private, and voluntary agency programs to help you recover from the flood. Government disaster programs are there to help you, the taxpayer. You're paying for them; check them out. 3: Floodproof. It is very likely that your home will be flooded again someday. Floodproofing means using materials and practices that will prevent or minimize flood damage in the future. Many floodproofing techniques are inexpensive or can be easily incorporated into your rebuilding program. You can save a lot of money by floodproofing as you repair and rebuild (see Step 8).




Seasonal Flooding Vulnerability, Cause, Impact and Coping Strategies in Southern Ethiopia Urban Areas. The Case of Sawla Town


Book Description

Academic Paper from the year 2012 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Miscellaneous, grade: 4/4, Ethiopian Civil Service University, language: English, abstract: Sawla town is geographically inscribed by the chains of mountain range from south to west, and from west to north. And the main town is dissected by two crossing rivers namely, ‘Womba and Cholea’. Due to increasing demographic dynamics of the town accompanied by rapid urbanization, demand of land for housing is higher than that of the available recognized land under the municipal authority; hence informal settlement patterns are becoming the usual trend especially towards ecologically sensitive boundaries of the town which is characterized by mountain hill sides, sloppy forest land and gully structures and the two river plains. As a result of deforestation and impermeable coverings by construction, the capacity of the natural land feature to infiltrate and percolate rain precipitation is decreasing from time to time with the subsequent increase in surface runoff conveyed to water bodies across drainages and urban storm ways. This trend of increase in surface runoff is featuring Sawla town by seasonal flooding calamity with a serious social, economic and environmental impact especially encountered by poor vulnerable communities. Therefore the purpose of this study is to assess seasonal flooding vulnerability, cause and impact in Sawla town by then suggesting feasible recommendation to mitigate the impact of seasonal flooding on the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the town. A descriptive research type was employed to describe the cause and impacts of seasonal flooding on vulnerable communities of the town. Reliable data have been gathered from 163 (93% response rate) randomly selected respondents founded from four kebeles (Zirko, Botre, Kera and Kusti) of the town through questionnaire, interview and observation. Based on the data obtained from the field and secondary data sets, urbanization and informal settlement, deforestation, rainfall variability as climatic change and inadequacy of infrastructure are identified causes of seasonal flooding in the town. This seasonal flooding trend produced serious social, economic and environmental damages in Sawla town.