Public Perception of Flood Hazard in the Niger Delta,Nigeria

Summary Our study had the aim of understanding how floodplain dwellers regard the risk of flooding. About 500 questionnaires were administered to landowners in the selected settlements in the study area using systematic random sampling. The results of analysis show, among other things, that the population regards most important the causes of floods as heavy, prolonged rainfall and river overflow. Nevertheless, they have little knowledge of the frequency of severe floods, and flood alleviation schemes. Most flood victims do not get compensation or relief during flood disaster, and the reason why they remain in the study area is influenced by their occupations, especially fishing, subsistence agriculture, and the presence of crude oil in the region which has attracted many migrants who cannot afford the high cost of accommodation and are therefore forced to live in vulnerable areas of the floodplain. Finally, the study concludes that flood control in the region needs the cooperation of government, community efforts and an enlightenment programmes through environmental education and mass media.     

GEOMORPHOLOGY OF STEEPLAND HEADWATERS: THE TRANSITION FROM HILLSLOPES TO CHANNELS1

Headwater streams comprise 60 to 80 percent of the cumulative length of river networks. In hilly to mountainous terrain, they reflect a mix of hillslope and channel processes because of their close proximity to sediment source areas. Their morphology is an assemblage of residual soils, landslide deposits, wood, boulders, thin patches of poorly sorted alluvium, and stretches of bedrock. Longitudinal profiles of these channels are strongly influenced by steps created by sediment deposits, large wood, and boulders. Due to the combination of small drainage area, stepped shallow gradient, large roughness elements, and cohesive sediments, headwater streams typically transport little sediment or coarse wood debris by fluvial processes. Consequently, headwaters act as sediment reservoirs for periods spanning decades to centuries. The accumulated sediment and wood may be episodically evacuated by debris flows, debris floods, or gully erosion and transported to larger channels. In mountain environments, these processes deliver significant amounts of materials that form riverine habitats in larger channels. In managed steepland forests, accelerated rates of landslides and debris flows resulting from the harvest of headwater forests have the potential to seriously impact the morphology of headwater streams and downstream resources.     

“We cannot let this happen again”: reversing UK flood policy in response to the Somerset Levels floods, 2014

The Multiple Streams Framework offers a theoretical account of how policy proposals move from latent possibilities to becoming favored for implementation. We apply this framework in the context of the policy response to the 2013–2014 flooding of the Somerset Levels and Moors. Stakeholder interviews and analysis of news media coverage evidence the way in which a specific policy option that had fallen out of favor with the national Environment Agency – dredging – came to the fore and was eventually adopted during the period in which the conjunction of problem, policy, and political pressures came to a head. Local political activists mobilized a wider campaign with the help of social media and capitalized on national political sensitivities to successfully promote dredging. What is less clear is the longevity of the policy reversal, given funding constraints.     

Probabilistic Flood Inundation Forecasting Using Rating Curve Libraries

One approach for performing uncertainty assessment in flood inundation modeling is to use an ensemble of models with different conceptualizations, parameters, and initial and boundary conditions that capture the factors contributing to uncertainty. However, the high computational expense of many hydraulic models renders their use impractical for ensemble forecasting. To address this challenge, we developed a rating curve library method for flood inundation forecasting. This method involves pre‐running a hydraulic model using multiple inflows and extracting rating curves, which prescribe a relation between streamflow and stage at various cross sections along a river reach. For a given streamflow, flood stage at each cross section is interpolated from the pre‐computed rating curve library to delineate flood inundation depths and extents at a lower computational cost. In this article, we describe the workflow for our rating curve library method and the Rating Curve based Automatic Flood Forecasting (RCAFF) software that automates this workflow. We also investigate the feasibility of using this method to transform ensemble streamflow forecasts into local, probabilistic flood inundation delineations for the Onion and Shoal Creeks in Austin, Texas. While our results show water surface elevations from RCAFF are comparable to those from the hydraulic models, the ensemble streamflow forecasts used as inputs to RCAFF are the largest source of uncertainty in predicting observed floods.     

Hurricane Harvey and Greater Houston households: comparing pre-event preparedness with post-event health effects,event exposures,and recovery

Most disaster studies rely on convenience sampling and ‘after-only’ designs to assess impacts. This paper, focusing on Hurricane Harvey (2017) and leveraging a pre-/post-event sample of Greater Houston households (n=71) in the United States, establishes baselines for disaster preparedness and home structure flood hazard mitigation, explores household-level ramifications, and examines how preparedness and mitigation relate to health effects, event exposures, and recovery. Between 70 and 80 per cent of participants instituted preparedness measures. Mitigation actions varied: six per cent had interior drainage systems and 83 per cent had elevated indoor heating/cooling components. Sixty per cent reported home damage. One-half highlighted allergies and two-thirds indicated some level of post-traumatic stress (PTS). Three-quarters worried about family members/friends. The results of generalised linear models revealed that greater pre- event mitigation was associated with fewer physical health problems and adverse experiences, lower PTS, and faster recovery. The study design exposed the broad benefits of home structure flood hazard mitigation for households after Harvey.     

1961~2015年西南地区降水及洪涝指数空间分布特征

利用西南地区98个气象站连续完整的日降水序列数据，整合降水强度、持续性指数及等级指数形成降水指数体系并研究该区域降水及洪涝指数的空间分布特征，得到以下主要结论：（1） 1961~2015年，西南地区年降水量（PRCPTOT）与极端降水量（R95PTOT）都呈现出“东多西少、南多北少”的分布形态；持续降水日数（CWD）则表现为“南高北低、西高东低”的分布格局。区域多年平 均PRCPTOT、R95PTOT、CWD分别以-13.12 mm/10 a、1.34 mm/10 a、-0.29 d/10 a的速率变化。（2）西南地区不同等级降水日数具有相似的空间分布特征，均呈现出“南高北低、东高西低”的分布形态。（3）西南地区洪涝强度指数呈由东北向西南递减的分布特征；降水总量越多的地区，洪涝强度反而越低，主要由于单站洪涝强度表征的是降水的波动情况，降水量越多波动越不明显。21世纪以来，该 地区洪涝等级以重级为主，2010年以来连续多年出现特重级洪涝。此外，洪涝强度越大，区域性年度灾害等级越高。该研究对于掌握西南地区极端气候变化规律，从而服务于防灾减灾具有一定的理论意义。     

防洪物资储备决策方法初探

根据防洪抢险物资储备属于一种信息不全型决策问题的特点，本文提出了一种用于确定每年防灾物资准备量概率排序决策模型，并以孙不河流泥石流灾害预报火灾决策为例进行说明。     

疫情下医疗废物的处置现状分析

2019年新冠疫情席卷全球,在疫情环境下,医疗废物大幅增多,全国各大城市纷纷出现医疗废物处置不当的现象。本文对国内外现状分析,在认知、设施、管理和监督四个方面发现存在一定的问题,通过加强教育、加大储备、完善机制和改善监管的建议,为提升医疗废物应急处置能力提供参考。     

新型重金属絮凝剂巯基乙酰化羟甲基聚丙烯酰胺的优化制备

为提高含铜废水的处理效果及简化处理流程,以聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)、甲醛、氢氧化钠、巯基乙酸(TGA)为原料,先经羟甲基化反应制备中间产物羟甲基聚丙烯酰胺(MPAM),再通过酰胺化反应将巯基接枝到MPAM分子链上,制备出新型重金属絮凝剂巯基乙酰化羟甲基聚丙烯酰胺(MAMPAM).以水样中Cu(Ⅱ)的去除率为考察目标,采用Plackett-Burman实验、最陡爬坡实验和响应面法中CCD实验优化MAMPAM的制备条件.结果表明,MAMPAM最优制备条件为:MPAM浓度0.31%、MPAM与TGA物质的量比为1∶3.2、反应介质p H值为4.76、反应温度为25℃、反应时间为2 h,在此条件下制备的MAMPAM对Cu(Ⅱ)的去除率为95.30%,与模型的理论预测值94.47%接近,相对偏差仅为0.83%,模型合理可靠.红外分析表明MPAM分子链上成功接上了巯基.MAMPAM对不同初始浓度的含Cu(Ⅱ)水样具有很好的去除效果,Cu(Ⅱ)去除率均能达到90%以上.MAMPAM有望成为一种有效的含铜废水处理剂,具有一定的应用前景.