Changes in peak flow with decreased forestry practices: analysis using watershed runoff data

The prevalence of forestry practices such as thinning and pruning have gradually decreased since the 1980s. Researchers have noted an increased flood risk with decreased forestry practices for coniferous plantations in Japan on the basis of infiltration and overland flow measurements at a plot scale (typically several square meters). However, no studies have examined changes in peak flow with decreased forestry practices at a watershed scale (typically several tens or hundreds of square kilometers) even though flood disasters generally occur at this scale in Japan. We examined changes in frequency distributions of daily precipitation (P) and runoff (Q) during the period 1979-2007 at the Terauchi watershed, where forestry practices are known to have decreased. For this purpose, we divided P and Q data into 14 and 15 classes according to the magnitude, respectively, and examined changes in the frequency for each class during the period. We observed no significant increasing trend for any P or Q class. Even when taking into account the effect of interannual variations in precipitation on the frequency for each Q class, there was no significant increasing trend in the frequencies except for two Q classes with moderate Q values. These results suggest that the increase in flood risk due to decreased forestry practices might be less than expected.     

Avoidance of death and injury through mionitoring of dams and flood evacuation in Essex, Connecticut, June 1982

During a period of heavy ranfall in Essex, Connecticut, on 4th and 5th June 1982, dams in the town along the Fall River were monitored for signs of braks. The observation of water spilling over one of teh dams at 10 p.m. in 5th June ld to the decision to evacuate community rsidents. The notification and avacuation process was conducted by the cvolunteer fire department over a two-hour periopd. At 12.30 a.m 6th June, the upper dam on the Fall River gave way, rsulting in a rapidly moving floodwave which sequentially destroyed four additional dams along the river. Although there was extensive property damage, gthere were no serious injuries and no deaths. The responsible actons of the town officials in monitoring the dams during the period of heavy rainfall permitted the evacuation order to be given in sufficient time to evacuate the residnts. The success of the evacuation was the result of good communication, trust, and co-operation between town officials and the community.     

Coastal flood protection: What perspective in a changing climate? The THESEUS approach

Coastal areas are vital economic hubs in terms of settlement, industry, agriculture, trade and tourism to mention some key sectors. There are already many coastal problems including erosion, flood risk and long-term habitat deterioration. As economies continue to develop the asset base at risk will grow, while accelerating climate change will increase the likelihood of damaging extreme events, as well as accelerate habitat decline. Existing coastal management and defence approaches are not well tuned to these challenges as they assume a static situation.THESEUS project is developing a systematic approach to delivering both a low-risk coast for human use and healthy habitats for evolving coastal zones subject to multiple change factors. The project examines innovative mitigation and adaptation technologies and integrate the best of these technical measures in a strategic policy context through overarching guidelines. THESEUS activities are carried out within a multidisciplinary framework using 8 study sites across Europe, with specific attention to the most vulnerable coastal environments such as deltas, estuaries and wetlands, where many large cities and industrial areas are located.This paper describes THESEUS approach, and specifically: the Source-Pathway-Receptor-Consquence model for coastal risk assessment; the engineering, social, economic and ecological mitigation measures under analysis; the participatory approach with end users and coastal authorities for the selection and identification of the appropriate defence strategy to be planned in sudy sites.     

FloodProBE: technologies for improved safety of the built environment in relation to flood events

The FloodProBE project started as a FP7 research project in November 2009.Floods, together with wind related storms, are considered the major natural hazard in the EU in terms of risk to people and assets. In order to adapt urban areas (in river and coastal zones) to prevent flooding or to be better prepared for floods, decision makers need to determine how to upgrade flood defences and increasing flood resilience of protected buildings and critical infrastructure (power supplies, communications, water, transport, etc.) and assess the expected risk reduction from these measures.The aim of the FloodProBE-project is to improve knowledge on flood resilience and flood protection performance for balancing investments in flood risk management in urban areas. To this end, technologies, methods and tools for assessment purposes and for the adaptation of new and existing buildings and critical infrastructure are developed, tested and disseminated.Three priority areas are addressed by FloodProBE. These are: (i) vulnerability of critical infrastructure and high-density value assets including direct and indirect damage, (ii) the assessment and reliability of urban flood defences including the use of geophysical methods and remote sensing techniques and (iii) concepts and technologies for upgrading weak links in flood defences as well as construction technologies for flood proofing buildings and infrastructure networks to increase the flood resilience of the urban system.The primary impact of FloodProBE in advancing knowledge in these areas is an increase in the cost-effectiveness (i.e. performance) of new and existing flood protection structures and flood resilience measures.     

Insurance and flood risk reduction in Ghana: do insurers penalise homeowners who take precautionary measures?

Today, many advocate insurance as a tool for coping with natural disasters. Beyond providing prompt financial relief to victims of disasters, insurance can also incentivise individuals to invest in preventive measures if insurers reward such efforts with reduced premiums. However, insurers might be unable to reward investments in precautionary measures with lower premiums if they are ill-informed about individual-level risks. Here, we explore how Ghanaian home insurers respond to investments in flood risk reduction by asking them to quote premiums for four identical buildings; two had investments in flood risk reduction, while the other two had none. We find that insurers did not reward investments in risk reduction, with some charging higher premiums for elevated buildings, suggesting they have interpreted such preventive measures as a sign of high flood risk. This failure to reward investments in precautionary measures may discourage insured homeowners from investing in risk reduction.     

海河流域近500年大旱大涝时空特征及趋势预测

作者选择记录年代较长、系统性较好、分布均匀的十八个站作为海河流域的代表站，分别统计了近５００年及每世纪、各年代大旱大涝的出现频数，探讨了它的时空分布特征。还根据天文、气候背景制作了１９９５～２０１０年旱涝趋势预测。研究表明，１９９５～２０１０年海河流域大致处于太阳活动２３周的黑子低值位相和第２４周的高值位相之间，同时又处在太阳黑子世纪周期的下降段。从全国旱涝型指数和北京地区旱涝等级变化曲线看，目前海河流域正处于持续下降期，未来将进入湿润多雨阶段     

洞庭湖区洪涝灾害的预报模式

本文根据1952～1988年长江中上游地区的水文气象资料,对洞庭湖区洪涝灾害的特点进行了分析,在此基础上建立了预报模式.     

关于全国推广洪水风险图的认识与设想

近年来，随着我国社会经济的加速发展，水灾损失也在急剧增长。洪水风险区域内人口资产密度提高，而经济发展中缺乏水患意识，减灾措施不足，以及总体上防洪保护标准偏低等，是水灾损失剧增的重要原因。为了扭转被动局面，国家防汛抗旱总指挥部决定在全国推广洪水风险图。世界各国防洪形势国情不同，洪水风险图的绘制目的与风险图的内容和表达形式也有显著差异。本文通过基本国情的分析和中外风险图绘制目的与必备内容的比较，探讨适合于我国推广的洪水风险图形式。     

新疆1996年7月洪水灾害成因分析

作者从暴雨形成的环境背景、暴雨水汽来源及路径、暴雨过程及洪水时空分布、洪水稀遇程度和洪水特点等对新疆９６．７洪水进行了探讨，并综合野外考察结果，通过列述有关证据对洪水的成灾方式、致灾原因进行了详尽分析。     

淮河流域洪涝变化的信息维研究

以一定洪涝指标建立的淮河流域近五百年洪涝变化序列为基础，采用分形理论和方法，分析了淮河流域洪涝变化的分形结构特征；计算了淮河流域不同等级洪涝序列的信息分维及其随时间的变化。结果表明，淮河流域洪涝序列是一种极不规则的Ｃａｎｔｏｒ集合；信息分维与洪涝发生的频度呈反相关关系，即洪涝程度越重，信息分维值越低，所反映的气候层次相对越高。信息分维及其变化有望成为时间序列变化趋势和气候层次的诊断指标。