REMEMBERING 2 O 10S FLOODS Heavy rainfall sets
REMEMBERING 2 O 10’S FLOODS Heavy rainfall sets records and causes flooding disasters around the world Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA
2010 A YEAR OF “RECORD AND NEAR-RECORD” NATURAL DISASTERS
FLOOD HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • TOO MUCH WATER DISCHARGED WITHIN THE REGIONAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO BE ACCOMMODATED IN THE NORMAL WATER CYCLE • EROSION • SCOUR • MUDFLOWS
CAUSES OF RISK LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN INUNDATION INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS FLOODS CASE HISTORIES STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS) EROSION AND MUDFLOWS CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER
RISK ASSESSMENT • HAZARD MAPS • INVENTORY • VULNERABILITY • LOCATION DATA BASES AND INFORMATION ACCEPTABLE RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK FLOOD DISASTER RISK REDUCTION COMMUNITY POLICY OPTIONS HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS • PREVENTION/MITIGATION • PREPAREDNESS • EMERGENCY RESPONSE • RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION
2010’S “FLOOD LABORATORIES” • PORTUGAL (MADEIRA) • RUSSIA (SIBERIA, KAZAKHSTAN) • USA (NORTH DAKOTA, MINNESOTA, TENNESSEE, CALIFORNIA, …)
2010’S “FLOOD LABORATORIES” • BRAZIL • POLAND, HUNGARY, GERMANY, CZECH REPUBLIC, … • CHINA—NORTH KOREA • PAKISTAN • NEW SOUTH WALES (AUSTRALIA)
IMPACTED NATIONS • … Madeira (Portugal), Russia, USA (North Dakota, Minnesota, Tennessee), Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, China , Pakistan, North Korea, New South Wales, Australia, California, …
SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 • Millions evacuated. • Millions of homes inundated, left without power, damaged or destroyed. • Landslides (Rock falls, Mudflows) triggered by heavy, prolonged rainfall. • Lives and livelihoods of millions adversely affected. • Millions at risk from water-borne diseases
SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010 (Continued) • Homes and • $Tens of billions Infrastructure in insured and damaged or uninsured destroyed. economic losses. • Health care needs • Thousands killed related to waterin flood-related borne diseases disasters increase sharply.
FLASH FLOODS TRIGGER MUDSLIDES IN THE MADEIRA ISLANDS, PORTUGAL AT LEAST 42 DEAD FEBRUARY 20 -21, 2010
LOCATION OF MADEIRA
WHAT HAPPENED? The worst storm to hit Madeira since 1993 lashed the south of the Atlantic Ocean island, including the capital, Funchal, Saturday, turning some streets into torrents of mud, water and debris.
WHAT HAPPENED (continued) The flash floods were so powerful they carved paths down mountains and ripped through the city, churning under some bridges and tearing others down.
FEBRUARY 21: FLASH FLOOD
FEBRUARY 21
FLOODS IN RUSSIA SPRING RUNOFF AFTER A HARSH WINTER INCREASES FLOOD RISKS ACROSS RUSSIA MARCH 2010
LOCATION MAP SHOWING THE THREE GREAT SIBERIAN RIVERS
The Ob River, the country's fourth longest river and the longest estuary in the world, is a major river in western Siberia.
The Yenisei River, which drains a large portion of central Siberia, is the greatest river system flowing northward to the Arctic Ocean.
The Lena River is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Ob River and the Yenisei river) is the 10 th longest river in the world.
Weather reports warned of "catastrophic" flooding in Siberia, where river ice was up to several meters thick, and rivers flowing northward routinely surge with melting water.
FLOODING IN SIBERIA
FLOODING IN KAZAKHSTAN
NORTH DAKOTA-MINNESOTA EXPERIENCE A NEARRECORD FLOOD DISASTER AGAIN 2009’S RECORD FLOOD STAGE APPROACHED, BUT UNBROKEN MARCH 15 - 30, 2010
REASONS FOR FLOODING THE ANNUAL FLOODING THREAT TO FARGO, ND AND MOORHEAD, MN IS TRIGGERED BY: Ø 1) The Spring melt and runoff , AFTER Ø 2) A severe Winter.
SCIENTIFIC REASONS FOR RECURRING FLOOD DISASTERS IN THE AREA 1. Synchrony of river discharge with Spring runoff 2. Ice jams
SCIENTIFIC REASONS FOR RECURRING FLOOD DISASTERS IN THE AREA 3. Lake Agassiz, a glacial lake, is the floodplain of the Red River 4. A sharp decrease in river gradient makes the Fargo. Moorhead area act like a large
2010: RAPID MELT AND RUNOFF
THE “SPIDER” WAS USED TO MAKE 5, 000 SANDBAGS PER HOUR
HALSTAD, MN: 4 FT BELOW 2009’S RECORD OF 40. 5 FT
FARGO, ND: THE RED RIVER CRESTS 4 FT BELOW RECORD ON MARCH 21
REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS PLAN A 10 -YEAR, $1. 3 BILLION FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT A 60 KM (36 -MILE) – LONG NEW RIVER CHANNEL IS EXPECTED TO SOLVE THE RECURRING THREAT
FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES PARALYZE BRAZIL WORST IN 50 YEARS APRIL 7, 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO: WIDE SPREAD INUNDATION
10, 000 homes, mostly in the slums where one-fifth of Rio's people live in shacks that are vulnerable to heavy rains, were also severely impacted by mudslides
RECORD FLOODING IN NASHVILLE, TN AREA MAY 1 -4, 2010
Flooding after 2 days of intense rain left the city of Nashville and the surrounding area with a record 33 cm (13 in) of water in two days.
The Cumberland River crested Monday afternoon, May 3 rd, at 3 ½ m above flood stage.
The flash floods caught the city offguard, and thousands of residents and tourists were forced to flee homes and hotels as the Cumberland river rapidly spilled over its banks
CUMBERLAND RIVER FLOODS INDUSTRIAL PARK
INTERSTATE HIGHWAY I-24 FLOODED
TEMPORARY SCHOOL BUILDING FLOATS DOWN I-24
FAILURE OF RAILROAD BRIDGE
FLOODING AT OPRYLAND HOTEL
EVACUATION FROM OPRYLAND RESORT HOTEL
The Impacts: 150 roads impassable Opryland other hotels evacuated Business interruption Schools and universities closed Fuel shortages Water shortages Over $1 billion economic loss.
RIVERS BURST BANKS AND BREACH DAMS IN CENTRAL EUROPE AFTER WEEKS OF RAIN POLAND, HUNGARY, GERMANY, CZECH REPUBLIC, … MAY – JUNE, 2010
The heaviest rains in over a decade forced thousands along rain swollen rivers in Poland, Germany, and Hungary to evacuate from their homes, breached dikes and sand bag dams, and caused damage to homes, and infrastructure estimated at over $2. 5 billion.
POLAND
POLAND VISTULA RIVER
VISTULA RIVER
INUNDATED VILLAGE
DIKE BREACHED NEAR VILLAGE OF SWINIARY
ODER RIVER: GERMANY
DANUBE RIVER: SOUTHERN GERMANY; JUNE 3
MASS EVACUATION
SAVING A HORSE
SAVING CATTLE: MAY 17
RAIN AND FLOODING FROM A SERIES OF STORMS TESTS CHINA’S THREE GORGES DAM AGAIN TEST 1: JUNE - JULY 2007 TEST 2: APRIL - JULY 2010
IMPACTS OF 2010’S FLOODS IN CHINA • More than 1, 400 people are believed to have been killed this year in unusually severe flooding in central and southern China.
IMPACTS OF 2010’S FLOODS IN CHINA • An estimated 1. 4 million homes were destroyed, 12 million people evacuated, and 87, 600 sq km (22 million acres) of crops ruined.
CHINA’S GRANDEST PROJECT SINCE THE GREAT WALL
THREE GORGES DAM • After 13 years of • The Three Gorges work and 35 Dam is located in million cubic Central China's Hubei yards of concrete, Province, 600 miles the dam reached southwest of Beijing. its full height of • It replaced Brazil's 190 m (606 ft) and Itaipu Dam as the width of 2, 309 m world's largest (7, 575 ft) across the Yangtze River hydroelectric and on May 19, 2006. flood-control installation.
2010 • The floods hit 13 provinces, including Guangdong, Sichuan and Zhejiang, damaging more than 140, 000 homes and affecting more than 10 million people.
SWOLLEN RIVERS IN 2010 • Virtually all of the major rivers were swollen, while water levels in lakes along the mighty Yangtze River were higher than in 1998, when catastrophic flooding killed about 4, 000 people.
YANGTZE RIVER FLOODS: JUNE 10
THREE GORGES DAM HAS PASSED TWO TESTS
NORTHWEST PAKISTAN (AND AFGHANISTAN) HIT BY FLASH FLOODS AFTER PROLONGED MONSOON RAINS JULY 28 -AUGUST 22, 2010 [NOTE: Aug 12 th is first day of Ramadan]
ONE-FIFTH OF PAKISTAN AFFECTED
2010’s Summer floods from monsoon rains were typical and expected, but they were the worst in 80 years and set new records.
Monsoon rains swelled rivers and streams across Pakistan and set flooding records in the province of Khyber. Pakhtunkhwa, parts of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region, and the eastern province of Punjab.
The United Nations announced Saturday, July 31, that they would provide $10 million dollars for immediate emergency assistance and would appeal for 460 million in international emergency assistance for food, water, health care, and shelter.
The USA provided $60 million for immediate emergency assistance along with Navy and Marine helicopters, rescue boats, water filtration units, prefabricated steel bridges and thousands of packaged meals, which Pakistani soldiers tossed from helicopters
LOSS OF INFRASTRUCTURE: HINDERED EVACUATION & EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
The survival of some of the poorest of the poor living in the districts of Nowshera, Charsadda, Peshawar, Swat, and Lower Dir became problematic because of the extent and catastrophic nature of the floods.
Over 1, 500 died (and probably many more) and more than 20 million were impacted as rains swelled rivers, inundated villages, and triggered landslides, causing entire villages, roads, and bridges to be swept away, isolating thousands, and leaving 6 million homeless.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: INUNDATED
THOUSANDS OF MUD BRICK HOMES COLLAPSED
SOME LIVESTOCK WAS SAVED, BUT THOUSANDS DROWNED
EVACUATION: CARRYING SELECTED POSSESSIONS
The people complained that their government was not meeting the urgent needs for adequate temporary shelters, toilets, and clean drinking water in order to avert a public health catastrophe.
PROTESTERS: NOWSHERA
TEMPORARY SHELTER
30, 000 Pakistani troops used helicopters and other means to rescue 28, 000 people and to distribute water and food.
NOWSHERA: PAKISTANI ARMY DISTRIBUTING WATER
FOOD LINE IN PUNJAB PROVINCE: AUGUST 20
FLOODS STRIKE COMMUNITIES NEAR CHINANORTH KOREA BORDER AUGUST 20 -22, 2010
Flooding forced the evacuation of 94, 000 people in the north China port city of Dandong, an area near the boundary with North Korea, after heavy rains caused China’s Yalu River to breach its banks.
Near Sinuiju, the North Korean city opposite Dandong, flooding swamped houses, public buildings and farmland in more than five villages.
SINUIJU, NORTH KOREA: INUNDATION BY ANNOK (YALU ) RIVER
FLOODS END YEARS OF DROUGHT IN NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 10 -20, 2010
45 FLOOD DISASTER ZONES
THE GREAT WINTER SOLSTICE STORM OF 2010 RAIN FALLING FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO BAKERSFIELD December 19 -21, 2010
The Great Winter Solstice Storm of 2010 was one for the record books, a once in a hundred years event, marked by the most rainfall ever to fall in the month of December and the 4 th heaviest daily rainfall (on Sunday) of all time.
PACIFIC STORMS CAUSED HEAVY RAIN FALL, FLOODING, ROCKFALLS, AND MUD FLOWS IN CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, AND UTAH
WINTER ARRIVED AT 3: 38 PM ON TUESDAY, DEC. 21 • Historic rainfall brought much of California into a state of emergency with widespread flooding and mud flows that impacted many people just before Christmas.
A LUNAR ECLIPSE COINCIDENT WITH SOLSTICE: 1 ST SINCE 1638
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DRENCHED WITH UP TO 20 CM Los Angeles received one-fourth of its annual rainfall (nearly 10 cm (4 in )) in 3 days.
WINTER STORM HITS CA: DEC 20, 2010
ROCKSLIDE A rockslide triggered by the prolonged heavy rainfall closed the Pacific Coast Highway in both directions at the Ventura-L. A. county line.
1 m (3 ft) OF WATER IN KERN CITY, CA: DEC 20, 2010
FLOODING CREATES CHAOS: DEC 20, 2010
From Friday (17 th) through midday on Monday (20 th), Bakersfield was drenched with 3. 79 in. of rain, which is 5 times the normal amount for an entire December and 58% of a normal year’s rainfall.
San Bernardino County, an inland region of Southern California east of Los Angeles was among the hardest-hit areas, with losses expected to exceed $10 million.
The flooding, mudslides, falling rocks, crested creeks and downed trees created havoc in the Bakersfield area and led to the declaration of a local emergency.
In Highland. CA. people returned to their homes after evacuation to find their homes inundated with 2 m (several feet) of mud.
MUDSLIDES IN HIGHLAND, CA: DEC 24, 2010
DECEMBER 29: A new winter storm packing powerful winds, heavy rain and snow moved into California, bringing a renewed threat of flooding and mud flows to areas that are already saturated.
- Slides: 109