Flooding in the Red River Basin – Lessons from Post Flood Activities

Flood of 1997 affected a large number of residents in the Red River Basin. Life disruption, economic damage, lengthy recovery process, physical and emotional trauma motivated a number of main initiatives to improve the level of preparedness in case of future floods. This review will focus on the involvement of the International Joint Commission (IJC). Personal experience is used in this review to emphasize a number of important lessons, of special relevance to Canadian portion of the basin, from the post flood activities. Level of preparedness for, and potential damage from future floods will benefit from focusing very serious effort on the improvement of the Canadian database, exchange of data with the U.S. and standardization of data collection, exchange and use. Tools for sustainable floodplain management are improving. However, the Red River Basin with its characteristics requires a special set of sophisticated tools that will enhance flood flow forecasting, planning of new flood control measures (structural and non-structural) and emergency operations of existing flood protection system. City of Winnipeg, being the largest population centre in the basin deserves a special attention. Additional protection of 670,000 people is required that will take into consideration temporal and spatial distribution of economic and social costs and benefits.     

Hydraulic and flood-loss modeling of levee,floodplain, and river management strategies,Middle Mississippi River,USA

In this investigation, four scenarios were used to quantify the balance between the benefits of levees for flood protection and their potential to increase flood risk using Hazards U.S. Multi-Hazard flood-loss software and hydraulic modeling of the Middle Mississippi River (MMR). The goals of this study were (1) to quantify the flood exposure under different flood-control configurations and (2) to assess the relative contributions of various engineered structures and flood-loss strategies to potential flood losses. Removing all the flood-control structures along the MMR, without buyouts or other mitigation, reduced the average flood stages between 2.3 m (100-year flood) and 2.5 m (500-year), but increased the potential flood losses by $4.3–6.7 billion. Removing the agricultural levees downstream of St. Louis decreased the flood stages through the metro region by ~1.0 m for the 100- and 500-year events; flood losses, without buyouts or other mitigation, were increased by $4.3–6.7 billion. Removing the agricultural levees downstream of St. Louis decreased the flood stages through the metro region by ~1.0 m for the 100- and 500-year events; flood losses, without buyouts or other mitigation, were increased by 155 million for the 100-year flood, but were decreased by $109 million for the 500-year flood. Thus, agricultural levees along the MMR protect against small- to medium-size floods (up to the ~100-year flood level) but cause more damage than they prevent during large floods such as the 500-year flood. Buyout costs for the all the buildings within the 500-year floodplain downstream of urban flood-control structures near St. Louis are ~40% less than the cost of repairing the buildings damaged by the 500-year flood. This suggests large-scale buyouts could be the most cost-effective option for flood loss mitigation for properties currently protected by agricultural levees.     

Coping with floods in the city of Dresden,Germany

During August 2002 and again in March 2005 as well as in April 2006 the city of Dresden was hit by floods. The flood in 2002 was an extreme event, only comparable to flooding in 1862 and 1890 in Dresden. The flood discharge in 2006 was the second highest discharge since 1940 at the Dresden gauge although its return period was only about 15 years. This special situation enables a comparison of the preparedness of authorities and households in the flood endangered city of Dresden in 2002 after a long period of relatively low flood discharges and in 2005/2006 just a few years after a severe flood event. Before August 2002, the flood risk awareness and flood preparedness of authorities and households in Dresden was low. The inundation channels and the Elbe riverbed had not been maintained well. Just 13% of the households had undertaken building precautionary measures. The severe flood situation as well as the low flood preparedness led to tremendous damage, e.g., losses to residential buildings amounted to 304 million €. After 2002, the municipal authorities in Dresden developed a new flood management concept and many households were motivated to undertake precautionary measures. Building precautionary measures had been actually undertaken by 67% of the households before the floods in 2005 and 2006. Flood damage was significantly lower, due to the less severe flood situations and the much better preparedness. It is an important challenge for the future to keep preparedness at a high level also without recurrent flood experiences.     

Analysis of flood vulnerability and assessment of the impacts in coastal zones of Bangladesh due to potential sea-level rise

The 4th IPCC report highlights the increased vulnerability of the coastal areas from floods due to sea-level rise (SLR). The existing coastal flood control structures in Bangladesh are not adequate to adapt these changes and new measures are urgently necessary. It is important to determine the impacts of SLR on flooding to analyse the performance of the existing structures and corresponding impact to plan for suitable adaptation and mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of floods on coastal zone. The study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the possible effects of SLR on floods in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. A hydrodynamic model, which is a combination of surface and river parts, was utilized for flood simulation. The tool was applied under a range of future scenarios, and results indicate both spatial variability of risk and changes in flood characteristics between now and under SLR. Estimated impact on population, infrastructure and transportation is also exposed. These types of impact estimation would be of value to flood plain management authorities to minimize the socio-economic impact.     

Establishing the Database of Inundation Potential in Taiwan

The structural measure was the major solution for flood defense in Taiwan. However, the measure is always limited to the design standard and cannot prevent the damages when floods exceed certain scale. Therefore, non-structural measures for flood mitigation are the indispensable complements to structural solutions. The study introduces the establishment of inundation potential database that provides required information for the non-structural measures in Taiwan. The database was built by numerical simulations, based on different rainfall scenarios, and has been applied by the local governments of Taiwan for land use managements, flood warning systems, emergency responses, and flood insurance programs to reduce the flood damages and impacts.     

Identifying factors influencing flood mitigation at the local level in Texas and Florida: the role of organizational capacity

In the United States, mitigating the adverse impacts of flooding has increasingly become the responsibility of local decision makers. Despite the importance of understanding why flood mitigation techniques are implemented at the local level, few empirical studies have been conducted over the last decade. Our study addresses this lack of research by examining the factors influencing local communities to adopt both structural and non-structural flood mitigation strategies. We use statistical models to predict multiple flood mitigation techniques implemented by cities and counties based on a survey of floodplain administrators and planning officials across Texas and Florida. Particular attention is paid to the role of organizational capacity to address floods in addition to various local geophysical and socioeconomic characteristics. Results indicate that organizational capacity is a significant factor contributing to the implementation of both structural and non-structural flood mitigation techniques, even when controlling for contextual characteristics.     

Analysis of flood causes and associated socio-economic damages in the Hindukush region

Pakistan is exposed to numerous hazards, but the problem of recurrent floods has been causing massive losses to lives and other properties. Swat valley is no exception to it. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyse the causes and associated socio-economic impacts of floods on the Swat valley, Pakistan. Swat valley falls in the Hindukush region, North-west-Pakistan. The valley has been studied with special reference to its physical and socio-economic environment. Similarly, three-sample villages were also randomly selected from the active floodplain for micro-level analysis. The sample villages include Ningolai, Delay and Ghureijo. All the three-sample communities are located on the right bank of river Swat. This area is located in the active flood zone of Swat valley. The analysis revealed that in the study area, floods occur during summer season, which is mainly caused by heavy rainfall as well as rapid melting of snow and glacier. Besides these, there are some floods intensifying factors, which accelerate intensity of floods and enhance resultant damages in the valley. It was found that during flood season, water overflows the natural levees and trigger tremendous loses to housing, agricultural land, standing crops and other properties. The flood-related Government Departments have only implemented limited structural mitigation measures. However, in addition to structural measure, land-use zoning and flood abatement strategies would largely help in reducing the adverse consequences of this recurrent phenomenon.     

Community-based disaster risk and vulnerability models of a coastal municipality in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most natural hazard-prone countries in the world with the greatest negative consequences being associated with cyclones, devastating floods, riverbank erosion, drought, earthquake, and arsenic contamination, etc. One way or other, these natural hazards engulfed every corner of Bangladesh. The main aim of this research paper is to carry out a multi-hazards risk and vulnerability assessment for the coastal Matlab municipality in Bangladesh and to recommend possible mitigation measures. To this aim, hazards are prioritized by integrating SMUG and FEMA models, and a participation process is implemented so as to involve community both in the risk assessment and in the identification of adaptation strategies. The Matlab municipality is highly vulnerable to several natural hazards such as cyclones, floods, and riverbank erosion. The SMUG is a qualitative assessment, while FEMA is a quantitative assessment of hazards. The FEMA model suggests a threshold of highest 100 points. All hazards that total more than 100 points may receive higher priority in emergency preparedness and mitigation measures. The FEMA model, because it judges each hazard individually in a numerical manner, may provide more satisfying results than the SMUG system. The spatial distributions of hazard, risk, social institutions, land use, and other resources indicate that the flood disaster is the top environmental problem of Matlab municipality. Hazard-specific probable mitigation measures are recommended with the discussion of local community. Finally, this study tries to provide insights into the way field research combining scientific assessments tools such as SMUG and FEMA could feed evidence-based decision-making processes for mitigation in vulnerable communities.     

Flood mitigation due to extreme rainfall events in the inner Bangkok,Thailand

In the past decades, the influence of climate change has caused changes in the amount of rainfall in many areas which may affect the flood assessment and mitigation. This research aims to determine amount of rainfall which impacts on changes of the water levels in canals and evaluate the appropriate mitigation measures for floods in the inner Bangkok area, Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai districts of Bangkok. The maximum 1-day rainfall during 1997–2010 was determined under different return periods of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 year. The MIKE 11 model was then applied to assess changes of the water levels in canals caused by design rainfall events for those return periods. The flood mitigation was also proposed by applying various pumping capacities and initial water levels, incorporating with building dykes and a floodgate. This study has found that the highest flood-risk areas are along Chak Phra and Bangkhunnon canals and the eastern part of Jakthong Canal while the lowest flood-risk area is Bangkok Yai district. Flood caused from the 10-year rainfall can be mitigated by building dykes with the height of 0.75 m [mean sea level (MSL)] and maintaining the initial water level of 0.70 m (MSL). Furthermore, it has also been found that flood caused from the 25-year rainfall can be mitigated by building the floodgate to prevent the flowing back water at Wat Yangsuttharam Canal. However, 50- and 100-year rainfalls seem to cause floods which are too large to mitigate.     

黄河下游漫滩高含沙洪水滩槽界定及泥沙时空沉积特性

黄河下游漫滩高含沙洪水河床调整剧烈,多数断面洪水后形成"相对窄深河槽",洪水前后河槽宽度发生明显变化。分别以观测断面洪水前后的河槽宽度为基准,计算漫滩高含沙洪水期泥沙时空沉积分布,结果表明,漫滩高含沙洪水与非漫滩高含沙洪水相比,能将主河槽内淤积泥沙量的59.3%搬运至嫩滩或滩地,减缓主河槽淤积。在分析研究基础上,建立了洪水后漫滩河段河槽相对缩窄率与洪水前期河槽宽度的量化关系,洪水后主槽宽度缩窄率为15.5%~44.0%;分析遴选了漫滩高含沙洪水滩地淤积量与主要水力因子间关联度及物理含义,给出了漫滩高含沙洪水滩地淤积量与相应水力因子间的响应函数;初步提出漫滩洪水河道塑槽淤滩的临界水沙配置指标,临界水沙系数取值为0.025~0.040。成果对高含沙洪水调控具有一定的指导意义。     

从2020年长江上游洪水看流域防洪对策

2020年长江上游和中下游先后发生特大洪水,其中干流编号洪水全部发生在上游,构成了长江流域洪水的主要部分。首先回顾2020年洪水及洪灾情况,然后根据历史上几次特大洪水过程和历年实测资料,分析长江上游洪水特征、洪灾类型及特点,最后提出新时代长江流域洪水整体防御战略及山洪灾害防治战术。研究表明:金沙江洪水是长江上游洪水基础部分,岷江、嘉陵江和干流区间是洪峰的主要来源,三者洪水遭遇是产生上游特大洪水的主因,上游洪水又是全流域特大洪水的基础和重要组成部分。目前造成洪灾死亡人数最多的是山洪以及山洪引起的地质灾害,财产损失最大的是中下游及湖泊地区。未来堤防仍然是防洪的基础,提高沿江城市防洪标准主要手段是控制性水库的联合优化调度,而减少洪涝灾害损失最有效的途径是给洪水以空间的自然解决方案等非工程措施。     

Economics of Flood Protection in India

The peculiar rainfall pattern in Indiarenders the country highly vulnerable to floods. Forty million hectares of land, roughlyone-eighth of the country's geographical area, is prone to floods. Each year, floods cause extensive damage to life and property, losses being exacerbated by rapid population growth, unplanned development and unchecked environmental degradation. The country has been tackling the problem through structural and non-structural measures. While non-structural measures like flood forecasting aim at improving the preparedness to floods by seeking to keep people away from floodwaters, structural measures involve the construction of physical structures like embankments, dams, drainage channels, and reservoirs that prevent floodwaters from reaching potential damage centres. Almost 48% of the vulnerable area has been provided with reasonable protection, though floods continue to cause widespread losses year after year. This paper examines the incidence of floods and the trends in consequent losses in the eastern region of the country – one of the most vulnerable – with the objective of studying the efficacy of flood protection measures in the region. Based on a simple regression exercise for three highly vulnerable states in the region, the paper argues that flood protection measures have been inadequate in controlling losses and reducing vulnerability. Regressions for the three states over the period 1971 to 1996 indicate that the level of protection is an insignificant explanatory variable in explaining the number of people (adjusted for increases in density) affected by floods; while area affected, as an indicator of the intensity of floods remains the main loss-determining factor.     

Integration of inland and coastal storms for flood hazard assessment using a distributed hydrologic model

Due to increasing flood severities and frequencies, studies on coastal vulnerability assessment are of increasing concern. Evaluation of flood inundation depth and extent is the first issue in flood vulnerability analysis. This study has proposed a practical framework for reliable coastal floodplain delineation considering both inland and coastal flooding. New York City (NYC) has been considered as the case study because of its vulnerability to storm surge-induced hazards. For floodplain delineation, a distributed hydrologic model is used. In the proposed method, the severities of combined inland and coastal floods for different recurrence intervals are determined. Through analyzing past storms in the study region, a referenced (base) configuration of rainfall and storm surge is selected to be used for defining flood scenarios with different return periods. The inundated areas are determined under different flooding scenarios. The inundation maps of 2012 superstorm Sandy in NYC is simulated and compared with the FEMA revised maps which shows a close agreement. This methodology could be of significant value to the planners and engineers working on the preparedness of coastal urban communities against storms by providing a platform for updating inundation maps as new events are observed and new information becomes available.     

Flood prediction and mitigation in coastal tourism areas,a case study: Hurghada,Egypt

Flood mitigation involves the management and control of floodwater movement, such as redirecting flood runoff through the use of floodwalls and flood gates, rather than trying to prevent floods altogether. The prevention and mitigation of flooding can be studied on three levels: on individual properties, small communities, and whole towns or cities. The current study area is located in Hurghada on the Red Sea, which is considered an important area for coastal tourism. The study area is located at distance 7.50 km from El Gouna city along the Red Sea and east of Hurghada–Al Ismaileya road. The aim of this research is to derive the runoff flow paths across the study area and their flow magnitudes under different rainfall events of 10, 25, 50, and 100 year return periods in order to design the flood mitigation measures to protect such important areas. Field data (e.g., topographic data and rainfall intensities) were collected for the study area. The results indicated that the site is exposed to high flash flood risk and protection work is required. In order to protect the area from flood risks, locations of number of drainage channels and dams were selected and designed based on flood quantity and direction. The proposed mitigation system is capable of protecting this crucial area from flood risks and increases the national income from tourism. This study can be applied in different areas of Egypt and the world.     

Assessment of flood hazard,vulnerability and risk of mid-eastern Dhaka using DEM and 1D hydrodynamic model

Floods are regular feature in rapidly urbanizing Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It is observed that about 60% of the eastern Dhaka regularly goes under water every year in monsoon due to lack of flood protection. Experience gathered from past devastating floods shows that, besides structural approach, non-structural approach such as flood hazard map and risk map is effective tools for reducing flood damages. In this paper, assessment of flood hazard by developing a flood hazard map for mid-eastern Dhaka (37.16 km²) was carried out by 1D hydrodynamic simulation on the basis of digital elevation model (DEM) data from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and the hydrologic field-observed data for 32 years (1972–2004). As the topography of the area has been considerably changed due to rapid land-filling by land developers which was observed in recent satellite image (DigitalGlobe image; Date of imagery: 7th March 2007), the acquired DEM data were modified to represent the current topography. The inundation simulation was conducted using hydrodynamic program HEC-RAS for flood of 100-year return period. The simulation has revealed that the maximum depth is 7.55 m at the southeastern part of that area and affected area is more than 50%. A flood hazard map was prepared according to the simulation result using the software ArcGIS. Finally, to assess the flood risk of that area, a risk map was prepared where risk was defined as the product of hazard (i.e., depth of inundation) and vulnerability (i.e., the exposure of people or assets to flood). These two maps should be helpful in raising awareness of inhabitants and in assigning priority for land development and for emergency preparedness including aid and relief operations in high-risk areas in the future.     

河漫滩沉积体系对洪水事件的指示——以修河为例

河漫滩是洪水漫溢过自然堤而在河流两岸水流流速降低的地貌环境下所塑造的河流地貌单元,是洪水过程所形成的独特沉积体系,蕴含着大量的河流水文信息,但由于河流侧向摆动、河漫滩沉积速度较快等原因,造成河漫滩沉积环境变化较快,河漫滩沉积体系长期以来没有得到足够的重视。以鄱阳湖修河下游永修三角乡修河右岸的近现代河漫滩沉积序列为例,基于¹³⁷Cs比活度测试和事件性沉积建立时间标尺,依据粒度组份等指标,结合气象和水文观测数据,探究了器测以来河漫滩沉积体系对洪水事件的记录及记录特点。研究结果表明:较大洪水期间水动力不稳定、粒度较粗、分选差(或者好)、粒度跨度宽;该剖面揭示了1953年来16次较大洪水年份的14次,检出率高;平均粒径(μm)和SS(分选系数×粒径跨度)等指标对洪水事件的检出最好。这样揭示出来的洪水,可称为异常洪水,有别于基于滞水沉积所反演的极端洪水事件。研究在一定程度上能拓宽古洪水的研究内容与研究内涵。     

三峡水库建成后长江中下游防洪战略思考

三峡水库建成后,长江中下游防洪形势显著改善,但由于经济社会发展,防洪要求的提高和江湖关系的变化,长江防洪形势发生了一些新的变化。以1954年和1998年典型大洪水为例,分析了三峡水库建成后长江中下游防洪形势出现的新变化,讨论了长江中下游蓄滞洪空间格局调整及江湖关系变化对于防洪的影响。根据长江水沙变化、河道演变、水库群调控和分蓄洪区使用几率变化等出现的新问题,提出未来防洪战略及对策。结果表明:三峡建成后,百年一遇以下洪水防御形势明显好转,而百年一遇以上特大防洪的防洪形势仍然严峻,洪水风险主要转移到水库群上;今后需要在加强蓄滞洪区建设的基础上,重点推动防洪非工程措施建设,以减轻特大洪水带来的灾害损失。     

Use of documentary sources on past flood events for flood risk management and land planning

The knowledge of past catastrophic events can improve flood risk mitigation policy, with a better awareness against risk. As such historical information is usually available in Europe for the past five centuries, historians are able to understand how past society dealt with flood risk, and hydrologists can include information on past floods into an adapted probabilistic framework. In France, Flood Risk Mitigation Maps are based either on the largest historical known flood event or on the 100-year flood event if it is greater. Two actions can be suggested in terms of promoting the use of historical information for flood risk management: (1) the development of a regional flood data base, with both historical and current data, in order to get a good feedback on recent events and to improve the flood risk education and awareness; (2) the commitment to keep a persistent/perennial management of a reference network of hydrometeorological observations for climate change studies.     

Impact of Flood Disasters on Taiwan in the Last Quarter Century

The increasing natural disasters, especially floods during the last quarter century, are raising the economic losses in Taiwan. The most severe hazard in Taiwan is flooding induced by typhoons and storms in summer and autumn. By comparing the rivers around the world, the ones in Taiwan have the steepest slopes, the largest discharge per unit drainage area, and the shortest time of concentrations. Rapid urbanization without proper land uses managements usually worsen the flood problems. Consequently, flood hazards mitigation has become the most essential task for Taiwan to deal with. Although the government keeps improving flood defense structures, the flood damage grows continuously. In this article, possible flood mitigation strategies are identified for coping with complex environmental and social decisions with flood risk involved.     

Atmospheric Hazards Preparedness in Bangladesh: A Study of Warning,Adjustments and Recovery from the April 1991 Cyclone

In probabilistic terms, Bangladesh is prone, to at least one major 'tropical cyclone' every year. This situation is primarily due to the geographical location of Bangladesh in tropical Asia, and to its concave coastline and shallow continental shelf. The devastating impact of such cyclones on humans stems from a combination of intense human occupation of the area, predominance of traditional sociocultural values and religion, the precarious socioeconomic conditions of the majority of the coastal inhabitants, and the lack of a coordinated institutional disaster planning and management strategy. Bangladesh has experienced several catastrophic environmental disasters during the last decade; among these events, the 1991 April cyclone was the most catastrophic in terms of both physical and human dimensions.An initial study was carried out in the coastal regions of Bangladesh less than two weeks after they were hit by the severe cyclone of 29 April 1991. This research examined the process through which warning of the impending disastrous cyclone was received by the local communities and disseminated throughout the coastal regions of Bangladesh. It was found that the identification of the threatening condition due to atmospheric disturbance, the monitoring of the hazard event, and the dissemination of the cyclone warning were each very successful. The present study followed up on the initial research by surveying 267 respondents with an elaborate survey instrument, focusing on the most crucial academic and planning issues identified in the 1991 study. In particular, the nature and characteristics of the cyclone preparedness of the coastal inhabitants were assessed by the study; other factors considered included rural-urban variations, mainland-island differences, the nature and role of previous knowledge, and the disaster experience.The survey results show the variety of indigenous adjustment mechanisms that help to rehabilitate the survivors; also visible are the profound roles played by the social inequality variables and the magnitude of physical vulnerability in influencing the disaster loss and recovery process. The study recommends that hazard mitigation policies should be integrated with national economic development plans and programs. Specifically, it is suggested that the cyclone warning system should incorporate the human response to warnings as its constituent part, and in this way accommodating human dimensions in its operational design.