Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 92 views

    Flooding Fast Facts: What Is A Flood?

    Uploaded by

    George King
    Flooding can occur when rivers overflow, after heavy rainfall, or from storm surges from hurricanes. Structures in flood plains, with shallow foundations, or underground are most at risk. Communities can reduce flood risk through awareness programs, risk assessments, early warning systems, and not building in flood-prone areas. During floods, evacuation and post-flood recovery plans are important. Non-structural measures like flood insurance and raising buildings above flood levels make communities more flood resilient.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Flooding Fast Facts: What Is A Flood?

    Uploaded by

    George King
    92 views5 pages
    Flooding can occur when rivers overflow, after heavy rainfall, or from storm surges from hurricanes. Structures in flood plains, with shallow foundations, or underground are most at risk. Communities can reduce flood risk through awareness programs, risk assessments, early warning systems, and not building in flood-prone areas. During floods, evacuation and post-flood recovery plans are important. Non-structural measures like flood insurance and raising buildings above flood levels make communities more flood resilient.

    Original Title

    Flooding Fact Sheet

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Flooding can occur when rivers overflow, after heavy rainfall, or from storm surges from hurricanes. Structures in flood plains, with shallow foundations, or underground are most at risk. Communities can reduce flood risk through awareness programs, risk assessments, early warning systems, and not building in flood-prone areas. During floods, evacuation and post-flood recovery plans are important. Non-structural measures like flood insurance and raising buildings above flood levels make communities more flood resilient.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    92 views5 pages

    Flooding Fast Facts: What Is A Flood?

    Uploaded by

    George King
    Flooding can occur when rivers overflow, after heavy rainfall, or from storm surges from hurricanes. Structures in flood plains, with shallow foundations, or underground are most at risk. Communities can reduce flood risk through awareness programs, risk assessments, early warning systems, and not building in flood-prone areas. During floods, evacuation and post-flood recovery plans are important. Non-structural measures like flood insurance and raising buildings above flood levels make communities more flood resilient.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 5

    Flooding Fast Facts

    What is a flood?
    Flooding is the unusual presence of water on land to a depth which affects normal
    activities. Flooding can arise from:
    • Overflowing rivers (river flooding),
    • Heavy rainfall over a short duration (flash floods), or
    • An unusual inflow of sea water onto land (ocean flooding). Ocean flooding can
    be caused by storms such as hurricanes (storm surge), high tides (tidal
    flooding), seismic events (tsunami ) or large landslides (sometime also called
    tsunami).

    Important facts to know about floods

    River and flash flooding usually result from abnormally high rainfall over a relatively
    short period: Hours for flash floods; Days for river floods. Rapid snow melt can
    bring more water into the hydrological system than can be adequately drained,
    leading to what is generally called spring floods. Heavy rainfall during the a tropical
    rainy season can lead to monsoon floods, which can affect rivers and may also occur
    as flash flooding.

    Sedimentation of river beds and deforestation of water catchment areas can


    exacerbate conditions leading to river valley floods. Deforestation and paving over
    land can significantly increase the risk of flash floods. Building in flood plains or in
    environmentally degraded areas, or changing the natural drainage systems, can
    significantly increase the risk of flood damage.

    Not all floods are bad. Seasonal flooding can be an important source of nutrients
    for agricultural lands, and recharge water supplies in dams and underground
    aquifers. In some parts of the world, a lack of seasonal flooding is a disaster.

    A disaster usually occurs when people are not prepared for a flood due to the lack
    of early warning systems, preparedness and mitigation measures. Flooding which
    occurs at night, which happens rapidly, or both, is the most dangerous type of
    flooding.

    What are the elements most at risk during floods?


     any structure situated within a flood plain
     earth buildings or masonry with water-soluble mortar

    1
     buildings with shallow foundations or weak resistance to lateral loads or
    impact
     roads and bridges
     basements or underground buildings
     utilities
     machinery and electronics, including industry and communications equipment
     food stocks
     cultural artifacts
     fields and orchards
     confined livestock
     fishing boats and other maritime industries

    How can communities be more protected against floods?

    Here are some things that can be done to protect homes and communities from the
    damage caused by flooding.

    Before the floods

    Raise community awareness about flooding and flood protection measures.


     Include flood awareness and preparedness in school programs.
     Publicize flood risk areas, warning signs and evacuation plans.
     Collect the local history of flooding, mark areas affected (flood
    height markers) and commemorate the dates of significant floods.

    Conduct risks assessments


     Identify locations which might be affected by flooding, determine
    how often the flooding may occur and identify what might be damaged in
    a flood.
     Distribute flood hazard maps so that people know where there is a
    risk of flooding. Flood maps identify risks to individuals, enable
    preparation of emergency response plans, and determine where flood
    protection measures must be taken. They are also a great tool for
    community education and awareness
     Install sign posts marking possible flooding levels in the community to
    remind people of flood risks.
     Prepare community plans of action that explain what to do in case of
    flooding.

    Undertake non-structural measures


     Identify ways in which the use if possible flood areas can be change
    to avoid or reduce the impact of flooding.

    2
     Have a good early warning system in place. Local and regional weather
    information can be used to let the public know when flooding is a risk.
    With advance warning, steps can be taken to increase protection,
    such as placing emergency response teams on high alert and preparing
    emergency shelters.
     Educate people about the causes, risks and warning signs of floods.
     Develop evacuation plans, not forgetting the very young, elderly and
    disabled who may not be able to evacuate easily.

    Undertake structural measures


     Build dams and reservoirs, dikes and levees, retaining ponds, flood
    channels, and flood walls may help to reduce flooding. However, these
    measures can be very expensive!
     Protect well water from contamination, as flood waters often carry
    toxic materials, including raw sewage, animal waste, oil, and chemicals.

    Land planning
     Where possible, prevent building and development on flood-prone
    lands. Use land along rivers for parks or ecological reserves.
     If industry is based on the flood-prone areas, ensure there is flood-
    proofing and plans to evacuate machinery and materials which might
    be damaged by a flood.
     Protect wetlands and flood plains.
     Maintain natural vegetation and forest cover in wetlands and flood
    plains. Trees help the soil hold water!
     Restore and protect degraded wetlands and flood plains. These areas
    can store large amounts of flood water.
     Make room for rivers to flow naturally. Creating more space for
    rivers, flood plains, and wetlands is a major contribution to flood
    prevention and protection

    Increase building resilience


     Elevate the homes, schools and public buildings above flood level.
     Use water-resistant building materials, such as concrete or ceramic,
    in areas where frequent flooding is a risk.
     Ensure that important appliances, such as heating and electrical
    systems, are raised high above flood level.
     Install water-tight flood shields or barriers for basement windows,
    doors, and other openings.
     Flooding can cause sewage to back up into houses through drain pipes,
    creating a health hazard. Install sewer backflow valves to prevent
    this risk

    3
     Buy flood insurance.

    During the floods


     Evacuate: An evacuation should be based on a pre-flooding plan, include
    provision for elderly, young and disabled, and provide for evacuation shelters
    which have adequate food, water, sanitation and lodging facilities.
     Provide information to the evacuated on flood levels, possible damage and
    when people can expect to return. Most people do not want to say away from
    their homes more than necessary and want to return to rebuild as quickly as
    possible.
     Ensure that utilities are cut-off in flooded areas to avoid unnecessary
    damage or risk of injury.
     Plan for post-flooding damage assessments.
     Work with schools, government and business to ensure that normal activities
    can continue as much as possible during the flooding.
     Finding work, even temporary, may be very important for some of the
    evacuees.
     Continuing schooling and social and commercial activities such as markets,
    are important for evacuees to provide a sense of normal to their lived
    disrupted by the flooding.
     Work with professional services to providing counseling to those who are
    most affected by the flooding.

    http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/fl_during.shtm

    After the floods


     Conduct and publicize impact assessments.
     Develop recovery plans which ensure people can quickly rebuild their homes
    and that social and commercial services will re-open as quickly as possible.
     Assist people in returning to their home and communities as quickly as
    possible, but not so soon that it is dangerous.
     Warn returnees of the risks of injuries and health problems in rebuilding
    from flood damage.
     Ensure flood victims have fair and easy access to information on relief and
    recovery services and assistance which may be available.
     Provide advice and training to flood victims on ways to quickly rebuild in ways
    which will reduce future damage from floods.
     Provide appropriate assistance to the elderly and other disadvantaged
    groups (the ill, orphans, disabled) who need additional assistance to recovery
    from the flooding.
     Draw lessons from the impact of the floods and enhance measure to prevent
    or mitigate these impacts in the future.

    4
     Invest in mitigation measures.

    See more practical measures on: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/fl_after.shtm

    Statistics
    http://www.em-dat.net/disasters/Visualisation/profiles/natural-table-
    emdat_disasters.php?dis_type=Flood&Submit=Display+Disaster+Profile

    Good case studies


    Bangladesh
    Vietnam

    Canada
    http://www.rms.com/Publications/Central%20Europe%20Floods%20Whitepaper_final.pdf, pg. 9.

    For Further Information:


    http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/index.shtm
    http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_585_,00.html
    http://www.unep.org/depi/PDF/EEsnewsletterissue3.pdf
    http://assets.panda.org/downloads/livingwithfloodswwfpolicybriefingfinal.pdf
    ISDR Guidelines for Reducing Flood Losses,
    http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/isdr-publication/flood-guidelines/Guidelines-
    for-reducing-floods-losses.pdf;
    European Union, Best Practices on Flood Prevention, Protection, and Mitigation,
    http://www.floods.org/PDF/Intl_BestPractices_EU_2004.pdf
    World Wildlife Fund, Living with floods: Achieving ecologically sustainable flood
    management in Europe,
    http://assets.panda.org/downloads/livingwithfloodswwfpolicybriefingfinal.pdf
    Organization of American States, Hazard Mitigation Planning: Tools and Techniques,
    http://www.oas.org/CDMP/document/mitiplan/mittools.doc

    You might also like