> $20 Billion1993

> $100 Billion

2005

> $15 Billion2008

> $25 Billion

2008

What’s Wrong What’s Wrong with These with These Pictures?Pictures?

Floods are an act of God; flood damages result from

acts of men.

House Document 465, 89th Congress, 2d Session: A Unified National Program for Managing Flood Losses, August

1966

Floodproofing in a 21st Century Flood Risk Management Context

November 2008New Orleans, La

Gerald E. Galloway, Jr., PE, PhDPast-President, American Water Resources Association

Water Policy Collaborative, University of MarylandVisiting Scholar, US Army Corps of Engineers

THE SPEAKER DOES NOT REPRESENT ANYONE OR ANY AGENCY.

THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE HIS OWN AND DO NOT REFLECT,

NECESSARILY, THE POSITIONS OF THE AWRA, THE UNIVERSITY OF

MARYLAND, THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS OR ANYONE ELSE.

Caution

Floods Were Part of Early North American History

And People Tried to Deal with the Flood Challenge

STRUGGLE!

Then, A Major Flood Occurred in 1927…And Got Our Attention

Lowell

Pittsburgh

And Again in 1936

Flood Control Act of 1936 - The Nation

•…destructive floods upon the rivers...constitute a menace to national welfare; it is the sense of Congress that flood control is a proper activity of the Federal Government

Early Guidance on Floods

People

Keep the Water Away!

And Flood Protection Was Extended Across the Nation

FLOOD CONTROL!

But Flood Damages Continued to Grow –

1993

And Some Had Other IdeasThe Birth of Floodplain Management

Gilbert White

Jim Goddard

1953 -TVA Floodplain Management 1960 - Corps Floodplain Management

Services

Thinking in Broader Terms

• Senate Select Committee on Water Resources

• Water Resources Planning Act of 1965– Water Resources Council– Principles and Standards

National Flood Insurance Program– Established in 1968– Led to National Flood Hazard Mapping Program– Mandatory Purchase Provisions in 1973

White House Floodplain Management Review

Committee 1993-1994

• Determine Causes of '93 Flood

• Evaluate Floodplain Management Programs

• Recommend Changes in Policies Programs and Procedures

THE FLOOD OF 1993• Flood Was Significant Hydrometeorologic

Event

• Major Floods Will Continue to Occur

• People and Property Are at Risk in the Floodplain – Most Floodplain Residents Don’t

Understand the Hazard– Many Structures Unnecessarily Located

in Floodplain

• ….and It Isn’t Going to Get Any Better– Increased Development/Growth– Climate Change/Climate Variability– Uncertainty

The Flood Control Infrastructure Has Provided Protection to Millions

But It and Other Human Activity Caused Significant Environmental Degradation

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

• Share Responsibility and Costs for Floodplain Management Among Federal, State, and Local Governments and Impacted Populace

• Avoid Use of Floodplain: Don't Develop Where You Don't Need To – Zoning - Codes

• Minimize Damages to Development that Does Occur and Has Occurred– Hold the Water Where It Falls

• Minimize Damages to Development that Does Occur and Has Occurred– Floodproof

• Minimize Damages to Development that Does Occur and Has Occurred– Relocate Endangered Structures– Acquire Marginal Lands

• Minimize Damages to Development that Does Occur and Has Occurred– Use Levees/Floodwalls, When

Justified

• Mitigate Damages that Will Occur– Establish Early Warning Systems– Insure Those at Risk– Educate Present and Potential

Floodplain Occupants

FLOODDAMAGE

REDUCTION!

• 72 Years of Flood Control

• 40 Years of Flood Insurance

• Increasing Flood Damages

• Average annual losses - $6 Billion (BK)

• Inadequate Protection

• Inadequate Maintenance

Houston, We Have a Flood Challenge US Water Challenges

Risk!Risk!

Risk Perceptions and Risk Comparisons

If risk “a” is less than risk “b,”

and risk “a” is acceptable,

then risk “b” should also be acceptable

A Threat to That Which We ValueCovello

Risk

RISK =

•Probability of Hazard Occurring

•Probability that Protection Will Work

•Consequences of Bad Event Occurring

Why Doesn’t Anyone Seem to Understand Risk?

We Lead People to Believe They Were Safe

• The Assumption Is “Protection”• We Don’t Talk About or Prepare for Disaster

We Don’t Communicate Residual RiskThere is no such thing as complete protection

• Things Do Go Wrong and Consequences Can Be Estimated

• No Incentive or Requirement to Cover This Risk

• Exposure is Federal Government’s

Risk Mgmt

Tools

(Cumulative)

INITIAL RISK

Insurance

Zoning –Codes-Relocation

Structural

Evacuation Plans - Commo

RESIDUAL RISK

Risk

The Nation Moves to Flood Risk Management

Floodproofing(Natural) Storage

Edu

catio

n

How Determined?

The 21st Century

• Population Explosion• Pressures for Development• Scarce Resources• Climate Change• Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous

National and World Situations

• Floodprone construction rarely occurs. • New development has no adverse impact on flood

levels• Natural and beneficial functions of floodplains are

protected• Risk communication has become advanced enough

that local decision-making is well informed. • Policy decisions about the use of land and water

resources are based on sound data, science, and models.

Association of State Floodplain Managers Foundation, 2008www.floods.org

The Floodplain of 2050

What Must WE Do?• Educate the Public

• Floods Will Continue to Occur• Residual Risk Is Real• Nonstrucutral Approaches Lead to a Better

Future• Fewer Damages• Protection of Natural and Beneficial Functions

• Become Involved in the Decision Process• Politically/Institutionally

• Start Working on the Future -Today

…the human race is a family that has inherited a place on the earth in common … its members have an obligation to work toward sharing it so that none is deprived of the elementary needs for life, and …all have a responsibility to leave it undegraded for those who follow.

Gilbert F. White 1975