lessons learned from past notable disasters egypt part 1: floods walter hays, global alliance for...

LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS

EGYPTPART 1: FLOODS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

EGYPT

POLITICAL MAP OF EGYPT (Note: Aswan)

Egypt has frequent earthquakes, floods, flash floods and landslides, dust

storms, sandstorms, periodic droughts, and hot, driving

windstorms called khamsin, which occur in the spring.

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN EGYPTDISASTERS IN EGYPT

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN EGYPTDISASTERS IN EGYPT

FLOODS

STORMS

EARTHQUAKES

DUST STORMS

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER NRESILIENT

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM BECOMING DISASTER NRESILIENT

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters

Planet Earth’s atmospheric-hydrospheric-lithospheric interactions create situations favorable for FLOODS

THE NILE RIVER

THE NILE’S FERTILE DELTA

FLOOD-PRONE COMMUNITIES ALONG THE NILE

THE NILE RIVER

• The ancient Egyptians thought of the annual floods as the annual coming of the god Hapi.

• They did not realize that the annual flood cycle happened after rainfall in the mountains to the south swelled the tributaries and small rivers that form the northward-flowing Nile River.

FLOODING IS A PART OF THE EGYPTIAN CULTURE

• The annual flooding of the Nile River (Arabic: النيل وفاء a natural ,(عيدcycle, has been a part of Egyptian culture since ancient times.

• It is celebrated annually as a holiday (known as Wafaa El-Nil) for two weeks starting August 15.

THE ANNUAL RYTHMN OF LIFE ALONG THE NILE

THE ANNUAL FLOOD CYCLE

• The first indications of the rise of the Nile River and the beginning of the flood cycle are typically seen as early as the beginning of June.• A steady increase in water level occurs until the middle of July.

• The Nile continues to rise until the beginning of September, when the level remains stationary for a period of about three weeks, sometimes a little less. In October it rises again, and reaches its highest level. From this period it begins to subside, and though it rises yet once more and reaches occasionally its former highest point, it sinks steadily until the month of June when it is again at its lowest level

THE ANNUAL FLOOD CYCLE (Continued)

• The water level in the Nile continues to rise until the beginning of September, then the level remains stationary for a period of about three weeks.

• In October the water rises again and reaches its highest level.

THE ANNUAL FLOOD CYCLE (Continued)

• From October to June, the water level in the Nile continues to subside until it once again reaches its lowest level in June.

ELEMENTS OF RISK AND DISASTER

HAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDS

ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE RISK RISK

ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE RISK RISK

EXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSURE

VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATION

RISKRISKRISKRISK

FLOOD HAZARDS (AKA

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• TOO MUCH WATER DISCHARGED WITHIN THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO BE ACCOMMODATED NORMALLY IN THE REGIONAL WATER CYCLE

• EROSION

• SCOUR

• MUDFLOWS

A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A FLOOD INTERACT WITH

EGYPT’S COMMUNITIES

A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A FLOOD INTERACT WITH

EGYPT’S COMMUNITIES

LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN

FLOODSFLOODS

INUNDATION

INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER

WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS)

EROSION AND MUDFLOWS

CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER

CAUSES OF RISK

CAUSES OF RISK

CASE HISTORIESCASE HISTORIES

The annual flood cycle of the Nile River has made the

difference between living and dying for thousands of years in

Egypt.

THE NILE AS A SOURCE OF LIFE

• The annual floods of the Nile River brought nutrient-rich silt from the mountains to the Nile delta, which produced bountiful crops.

ABOUT THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WATER

THE NILE AS A SOURCE OF DEATH

• When the water levels in the Nile River are too high, flooding prevents deposition of the nutrient-rich silt in the Nile delta, reducing agricultural output.

• When water levels are too low for flooding, the result is low agricultural output and possible starvation.

TOO MUCH WATER

A DISASTER is ---

--- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community to respond without external help  when three continuums: 1)  people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., floods, earthquakes,…) intersect at a point in space and time.

Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause

extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness,

joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• When it does happen, the functions of the community’s buildings and infrastructure will be LOST.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability of adverse consequences event.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community has NO DISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely and effective manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences.

FLOODS IN EGYPT ARE INEVITABLE AND DAMAGING

FLOODS IN EGYPT ARE INEVITABLE AND DAMAGING

• ---SO, DON’T WAIT FOR ANOTHER REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BECOMING FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENT.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO A FLOOD DISASTER IS

FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE ALTERNATIVE TO A FLOOD DISASTER IS

FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

EGYPT’S EGYPT’S COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

EGYPT’S EGYPT’S COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

DATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

• FLOOD HAZARDS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

FL\OOD RISK FL\OOD RISK

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

FLOOD DISASTER FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•FORECASTS/SCENARIOS•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

STRATEGIC COLLABORATION (I.E., WORKING TOGETHER ON A

COMMON GOAL)

FOR BECOMING FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENT

STRATEGIC COLLABORATION (I.E., WORKING TOGETHER ON A

COMMON GOAL)

FOR BECOMING FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENT

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS

PREPAREDNESS FOR ALL OF THE LIKELY HAZARDS AND RISKS IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS TECHNOLOGIES THAT FACILITATE STRATEGIC COLLABORATION ARE ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS

TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS

PROTECTION OF A COMMUNITY’S PEOPLE, BUILDINGS, & INFRASTRUCTURE AGAINST LOSS OF FUNCTION IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

THE ASWAN HIGH DAMTHE ASWAN HIGH DAM

After ten years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed on July 21, 1970.

The Aswan High Dam, located on the Nile River just north of the border between Egypt and Sudan, was built to control the frequent cycles of flooding and

drought within Egypt.

THE ASWAN (HIGH) DAM

THE ASWAN (HIGH) DAM

THE ASWAN HIGH DAM

• At 364 feet (111 meters) high and about 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers) wide, the Aswan High Dam was a marvel of construction in 1970, costing about $1 billion to build.

ELECTRICITY

• In addition to preventing flooding of the Nile River, the Aswan High Dam brought electricity to households and villages across Egypt that had never had it.

• This dam's 12 turbines are capable of generating ten billion kilowatt-hours annually

FRESH WATER

• The reservoir (Lake Nasser) with a gross capacity of 136,927,000 acre-feet (168.9 billion cubic meters). behind the Aswan High Dam provides a source of fresh water for the Egyptian people during drought years.

Unfortunately, before the dam could be built, 90,000

of Egypt’s poor and Sudan’s Nubian nomads

had to be relocated