the floods of 2013 remembering some of this year's lessons from natural disasters

FLOODING

REMEMBERING SOME OF THE LESSONS FROM 2013’S DISASTERS

PART 3: FLOODS

PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF FLOODS- A PART OF THE NATURAL WATER CYCLE

PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF FLOODS- A PART OF THE NATURAL WATER CYCLE

INUNDATION, HIGH-VELOCITY FLOW OF WATER, HIGH-VOLUME DISCHARGE,

EROSION, AND SCOUR

INUNDATION, HIGH-VELOCITY FLOW OF WATER, HIGH-VOLUME DISCHARGE,

EROSION, AND SCOUR

DAMAGE FROM INUNDATION

DAMAGE FROM INUNDATION

A RISK ASSESSMENT LETS DECISIONMAKERS KNOW WHAT WILL LIKELY HAPPEN IN A FLOOD

A RISK ASSESSMENT LETS DECISIONMAKERS KNOW WHAT WILL LIKELY HAPPEN IN A FLOOD

EROSION, SCOUR, AND LANDSLIDES

EROSION, SCOUR, AND LANDSLIDES

LOSS OF FUNCTIONLOSS OF FUNCTION ECONOMIC LOSSECONOMIC LOSS

RISKRISK

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH FLOODS

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH FLOODS

DAMAGE TO CONTENTS, LOSS OF FUNCTION OF BUILDINGS AND

INFRASTRUCTURE, RELEASE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS,

TRANSPORTATION OF DEBRIS, AUTOS, AND HOUSES, ENVIRONMENTAL DEAD ZONES,

AND DISEASE

DAMAGE TO CONTENTS, LOSS OF FUNCTION OF BUILDINGS AND

INFRASTRUCTURE, RELEASE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS,

TRANSPORTATION OF DEBRIS, AUTOS, AND HOUSES, ENVIRONMENTAL DEAD ZONES,

AND DISEASE

LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN

FLOODSFLOODS

INUNDATION

INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

STRUCTURE & CONTENTS: DAMAGE FROM WATER

WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS)

EROSION AND MUDFLOWS

CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER

CAUSES OF RISK

CAUSES OF RISK

DISASTER LABORATORIES

DISASTER LABORATORIES

An element’s vulnerability (fragility) is the result of either a

community’s actions and/or nature’s actions that change

some part of the regional water cycle (e.g., precipitation,

storage, runoff, transpiration, evaporation).

LESSONS FROM THE COMMUNITY

Vulnerabilities typically enter during the planning, design, and construction phases of a

community’s building and critical infrastructure programs.

LESSONS FROM A COMMUNITY

• Urban development or industrial development in areas that were formerly wetlands and locating buildings and infrastructure in a river floodplain will increase the risk (i.e., chance of loss).

LESSONS FROM NATURE

• A flash flood, Ice jams/ice dams on the river, and rapid melt of snow and ice and the resultant runoff will usually lead to a flood disaster.

LESSONS FROM NATURE

• Extreme or prolonged precipitation caused by a stalled low-pressure system, or after a long, hot, dry season, or after a wildfire will usually exacerbate flooding risks.

A COMMUNITY’S ACTIONS

• Actions that increase or decrease river gradients (deforestation, dams, etc.,) and actions that change the runoff pattern or rate (e.g., the city’s concrete footprint) will exacerbate flood risks.

EXAMPLESEVERE FLOODING IN

LEBANON

JANUARY 4, 2013

THE THAWING OF A WINTER STORM CAUSED FLOODING THAT

CLOSED SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE

COUNTRY AND LEFT FOUR DEAD

FLOODING IN LEBANON

FLOODING IN LEBANON

EXAMPLE

HISTORIC MOUNTAIN FLOODING IN COLORADO AFTER A HOT, DRY SUMMER MARKED BY DROUGHT

AND WILDFIRES

SEPTEMBER, 15, 2013

RECORDS SET IN 1919 WERE BROKEN AFTER A WEEK-LONG RAINFALL

BOULDER, CO WAS HIT ESPECIALLY HARD

BOULDER

Boulder, with a population of about 100,000, is located 25 miles (40 km) northwest of

Denver and sited at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of

5,430 feet (1,655 m).

IMMEDIATE IMPACTS

• WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES• UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO CLOSED• SCHOOLS CLOSED• MUDSLIDES• INUNDATION• ISOLATED MTN. COMMUNITIES• FOOD AND WATER DEPLETED

Miles from the Rocky Mountains, debris-filled rivers became

muddy seas that overflowed banks\ and inundated farms and

towns.

DEBRIS-FILLED RIVERS

CUMMULATIVE IMPACTS

• $ 150 MILLION IN DAMAGE• THOUSANDS EVACUATED• COMMUNITIES ISOLATED• NATIONAL GUARD ACTIVATED• FEDERAL ASSISTANCE APPROVED• 1,200 STRANDED• AT LEAST 5 DEAD

FLOOD WATERS: BOULDER, CO.

FLOODING

FLOODING

CONTINUING RAINFALL, DAMAGED ROADS, AND

LANDSLIDES SLOWED SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS

ROADS DESTROYED

MUDSLIDE: BOULDER, CO.

AIRLIFTING

TOWARDS FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

COMMUNITIES

COMMUNITIES

DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONDATA BASES AND INFORMATION

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

• FLOOD HAZARDS• INVENTORY• VULNERABILITY• LOCATION

FLOOD RISK

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

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

POLICY OPTIONS

CREATING TURNING POINTS FOR FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

USING EDUCATIONAL SURGES CONTAINING THE PAST AND PRESENT LESSONS TO FOSTER AND ACCELERATE THE CREATION OF TURNING

POINTS

2014--2020 IS A GOOD TIME

FOR A GLOBAL SURGE IN EDUCATIONAL, TECHNICAL, HEALTH

CARE, AND POLITICAL CAPACITY BUILDING

IN ALL FIVE PILLARS OF COMMUNITY

DISASTER RESILIENCE

CREATING TURNING POINTS FOR FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS WITH POLITICAL

SOLUTIONS FOR POLICIES ON PREPAREDNESS, PROTECTION, EARLY

WARNING, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS

INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS

THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

Best Practices for Mitigation Adaptation and Monitoring

Gateways to a Deeper Understanding

Real and Near- Real Time Monitoring

Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Characterization

Anticipatory Actions for all Events and Situations

Situation Data Bases

Interfaces with all Real- and Near Real-Time Sources

Cause & Effect Relationships

APPLICATIONS

Implement Modern Codes and Lifeline Standards

Relocation/Rerouting of Cities and City Lifelines

Create a Hazard Zonation Map as a Policy Tool

Introduce New Technologies

Move Towards A Disaster Intelligent Community

EDUCATIONAL SURGES

Involve Partners in Turning Point Experimemts

Enlighten Communities on Their Risks

Build Strategic Equity Through Disaster Scenarios

Multiply Capability by International Twinning

Update Knowledge Bases After Each Disaster

OPPORTUNITIES FOR TURNING POINTS: For Disaster Resilience on local, regional, national, and global scales

OPPORTUNITIES FOR TURNING POINTS: For Disaster Resilience on local, regional, national, and global scales