LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS

PERUPART 1: FLOODS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN PERU DISASTERS IN PERU

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN PERU DISASTERS IN PERU

FLOODS

WINDSTORMS

EARTHQUAKES—HUAYCOS--TSUNAMIS

VOLCANOES

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

HIGH BENEFIT/COST PROGRAMS FOR BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT

HIGH BENEFIT/COST PROGRAMS FOR BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIESAND COMMUNITIES

PERU: ON THE SOUTH AMERICAN TECTONIC PLATE

Peru and other countries along the Pacific coast of South

America are often affected by severe weather, especially

during El Niño years, that lead to flooding and land slides.

Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters

Planet Earth’s atmospheric, hydrospheric, and lithospheric interactions cause FLOODS

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, landslides,..) 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 because they are UNPROTECTED with the appropriate codes and standards.

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 concerted local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

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.

TOWARDS FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

TOWARDS FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS PREPAREDNESS FOR ALL THE LIKELY FLOOD HAZARDS IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

PERU’S PERU’S COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

PERU’S PERU’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

FLOOD RISK FLOOD RISK

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

FLOOD DISASTER FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

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

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

HAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDS

ELEMENTS OF FLOOD RISKELEMENTS OF FLOOD RISKELEMENTS OF FLOOD RISKELEMENTS OF FLOOD RISK

EXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSURE

VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATION

RISKRISKRISKRISK

FLOOD HAZARDS:

ARE POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS PROTECTION OF PEOPLE, BUILDINGS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS EARLY WARNING

AND EVACUATION ARE ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

WHAT WILL HAPPEN?WHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A FLOOD INTERACT WITH

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS OF PERU’S COMMUNITIES

WHAT WILL HAPPEN?WHEN THE

POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A FLOOD INTERACT WITH

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS OF PERU’S COMMUNITIES

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

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

LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE

ALL FLOODS TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

NOTE: PERU IS HOME TO SOME OF THE

WORLD’S POOREST OF THE POOR WHO LIVE IN VULNERABLE HOUSING CONSTRUCTED OF ADOBE, OFTEN IN FLOOD PRONE LOATIONS LIKE THE

PACIFIC COAST

PERU’S MOST NOTABLE FLOODS

THE 1982-1983 EL NINO SEASON

NW PERU: LOCATION OF PIURA AND TUMBES

IMPACTS

• During the 1982-83 El Niño, two normally dry northern Peruvian regions, Piura and Tumbes, experienced heavy rain for nearly six months.

TUMBES: IMPACTS

IMPACTS

• In some regions where there had been no rain for 10 years, adobe buildings literally melted away in the downpour.

• Roads built on sand were eroded away.

• Water, electricity and drainage systems broke down.

ADOBE: HIGHLY VULNERABLE IN FLOODS

MACHU PICCHU AREA

TEMPORARY SHELTERS FOR EVACUEES

HEALTH IMPACTS

• A survey on health during the dry, first six months of 1982 compared with the wet conditions in 1983, showed that death rates from all causes increased by more than 90 percent in 1983.

HEALTH IMPACTS

• Respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases increased sharply

• The death rate doubled in the 1-4 years-old age group.

HEALTH IMPACTS

• The flooding, combined with an increase in temperature and humidity, let to a sharp increase in mosquito populations at the same time that flood damage to property caused an increase in exposure of humans to bites.

• The result was a malaria epidemic.

PERU’S NEXT FLOOD IS INEVITABLE

PERU’S NEXT FLOOD IS INEVITABLE

• THE PERUVIANS HAVE A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE SINCE THE 1982-1983 FLOOD DISASTER

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

• REAL TIME WEATHER FORCASTING AND WARNING SYSTEMS

• MEASURMENT TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., STREAM GAGUES)

• RISK MODELING (E.G., HAZUS, INSURANCE UNDERWRITING)

• REAL TIME WEATHER FORCASTING AND WARNING SYSTEMS

• MEASURMENT TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., STREAM GAGUES)

• RISK MODELING (E.G., HAZUS, INSURANCE UNDERWRITING)

• DATABASES • MAPS: 100-YEAR AND

500-YEAR FLOODS• FLOOD DISASTER

SCENARIOS• DRONE PLANES FOR

MONITORING STATUS

• DATABASES • MAPS: 100-YEAR AND

500-YEAR FLOODS• FLOOD DISASTER

SCENARIOS• DRONE PLANES FOR

MONITORING STATUS