Journal Article

Multi-Criteria Decision Support Systems for Flood Hazard Mitigation and Emergency Response in Urban Watersheds.

Levy JK, Hartmann J, Li KW, An Y, Asgary A. J Am Water Resour Assoc 2007; 43(2): 346-358.

Correspondence: unavailable

DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00027.x What is this?

(Copyright © 2007, Blackwell Publishing)

Abstract: Flood management problems are inherently complex, time-bound and multi-faceted, involving many decision makers (with conflicting priorities and dynamic preferences), high decision stakes, limited technical information (both in terms of quality and quantity), and difficult tradeoffs. Multi-Criteria Decision Support Systems (MCDSS) can help to manage this complexity and decision load by combining value judgments and technical information in a structured decision framework. A brief overview of MCDSS is presented, an original MCDSS architecture is put forth, and future research directions are discussed, including extensions to Multi-Criteria Spatial Decision Support Systems and group MCDSS (as flood management involves shared resources and broad constituencies). With application to the September 11-12, 2000 Tokai floods in Japan, the proposed multi-criteria decision support instruments enhance communication among stakeholders and improve emergency management resource allocation. In summary, by making the links among flood knowledge, assumptions and choices more explicit, MCDSS increases stakeholder satisfaction, saves lives, and reduces flood management costs, thereby increasing decision-making effectiveness, efficiency and transparency.

WEATHER / PREPARING FOR THE WORST

Storm, flood disaster plan approved by cabinet

POST REPORTERS

A five-year master plan to cope with floods, storms and mudslides was endorsed by the cabinet yesterday amid widespread floods in the provinces.

The plan will be implemented next year deputy government spokesman Natthawat Sutthiyothin said. It provides a framework and directions for providing effective emergency aid to victims and strengthening the ability of communities to cope with natural disasters.

These include preventative measures, irrigation management and emergency measures.

The weather office warned that some provinces in the North would feel the effects of tropical depression Francisco which was last night centred in the Gulf of Tonkin and moving westwards into Vietnam. Although it was weakening as it hit land, rainstorms and strong winds were predicted for the Northeast and northern provinces such as Phetchabun, Nan, Phayao, and Chiang Rai.

Full Story

Flood in Assam: Isn't it a National Disaster? By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi* "The flood situation in Assam is grim once again, nearly 50 lakh people affected in the deluge". "Army called out in flood-hit Assam, 8 million displaced". "At least 21 of Assam's 27 districts are now hit by the third wave of floods that began Wednesday (5th September), affected 10 million people". These and similar news about Assam were making headlines about the third wave of devastating floods in Assam in almost all national and international media portals till mid September. This year the state has been hit by the killer flood three times, successively, within a short span of three months. Some ladies sail through a boat to save their lives leaving behind their homes and belongings Cost of Recent Flood An Assam government statement said 'a total land area of two million hectares was affected, besides nearly 4.8 million hectares of cropland, since July'. A total of 70 people have been drowned in separate incidents till 15 September 2007. The floods that began in July have so far hit more than 10 million people covering about 9,000 villages - the worst hit districts being Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Dhubri, Morigaon, Barpeta, Goalpara and Nalbari. Incidentally the districts are Muslim populous who make nearly 31 per cent of state's total population. According to 2001 census total population of Assam is 2, 66, 38, 407 and flood displaced are more then one third of the total population. There are reports of breaches in embankments in 60 places. Flash flood partially damaged National Highway (NH) 31 and 52 and posed a threat to state's main life line NH 37 by eroding basement area of an important bridge in Golaghat district. Heavy traffics have been diverted through a gravel road. State's water Resource Minister Bharat Chandra Narah informed that the situation worsened because government did not get enough time to repair the breaches of dykes and embankments during the second wave of floods in the month of August. The first wave of pouring flood water hit the state on 11th July this year. Full Story

India - Bangladesh: Equipping Villages for Disaster

By Kai T. Hill and Caroline Brennan

Each year, India's monsoon rainy season causes massive devastation, resulting in the loss of homes, cattle, commerce and — above all — human life.

As the torrential rains pound from overhead, rivers and dams overflow their banks and communities, leaving entire villages marooned and residents desperately wading through murky water to find food and shelter for their families. Most often, the brunt of the flooding falls on poor and marginalized communities. These are just the people who lack the influence and money to recover from natural disasters, even anticipated monsoon rains.

In hopes of lessening the burden of such emergencies, over the last several years CRS has been implementing disaster-preparedness programs in areas prone to these crises. Using a variety of techniques, these programs help communities bolster their resources, establish life-saving contingency plans and improve the way they communicate during a crisis. "CRS and our partners focus on building community resilience to various shocks and risks by strengthening positive coping mechanisms in the community," says Kasturi Sengupta, CRS Orissa state representative. "This collective preparedness and response helps them undertake the first response without support from external agencies."

Full Story

Issues on China's Present Flood Defense and Drought Relief

Ministry of Water Resources

I. Information of Flood, Drought and Disasters

China has experienced extreme climate this year and there are several features. First of all, summertime north-west Pacific Sub-tropical High is continuously heading west and growing strong. Secondly, the number of typhoons that have landed or influenced China in early summer is significantly fewer while more typhoons landed later with stronger influence. Thirdly, precipitation increases in Huaihe River and the Han River, upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, etc while rainfall in south China , northeastern China and area south to the Yangtze River decreases substantially. Fourthly, extreme disastrous climate events, including storms with short duration and high intensity, storms with lightening took place frequently. Besides, the worst whole-basin flood since 1954 took place in Huaihe River Basin and first-time recorded extraordinary floods occurred in some small and medium-sized rivers. Flash floods are reported frequently meanwhile some areas witnessed extreme droughts.

According to statistics, by August 21, about 145 million mu or 9.67 million hectare of crops is affected, and 79.75 million mu or 5.32 million hectare of crops damaged. 139 million residents are affected while 1,098 died due to disaster, and 192 missing. 883,000 houses collapsed. The total direct economic loss amounts to 75.9 billion YUAN or US$10 billion, including 13 billion YUAN or US$1.72 billion loss of water structure. Around 88.53 million mu or 5.9 million hectare of arable land suffered from drought while 76.46 million mu or 5.1 million hectare of crop is affected by drought. 6.57 million residents and 5.15 million big livestock experienced temporary difficulty of water supply.

Full Story

upriver dams impact downstream countries

August 27th, 2007 at 7:59 am (IMMF Article 2002)

By Pouv Savuth,

The article was published in The IMMF Mekong River Times and The Nation,

November 2002, Bangkok, Thailand

The word “flood” brings bitter memories to downstream people in the Mekong River Basin. Devastating floods over the few years in Cambodia and Vietnam caused millions of dollars in damage to homes and crops, and claimed thousands of lives.

Environmental scientists say there are several possible reasons, including unusual weather patterns linked to global warning, years of widespread logging and even the construction of upstream dams.

Chinese dams may have contributed to this year’s flooding because excess water was released from reservoirs during the height of the rainy season, scientists say.

“Dam construction by the upriver countries causes serious impact to downstream countries along the Mekong River, especially Cambodia because the country is flat or lying close to the river,” said Ian Baird, Director of Global Association for People and Environment, an NGO based in Laos.

The situation could get worse. China plans to build eight dams on the upper Mekong (known as the Lancang in Chinese) to supply power to southern China and Thailand. Two dams have already been constructed.

Full Article

Flood toll shoots up to 702 in Bangladesh

www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-26 19:59:58

DHAKA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from flood-related incidents in Bangladesh rose to 702 by Sunday morning, private news agency UNB reported.

Meanwhile, the flood situation has improved greatly with all but two rivers flowing below their danger marks and floodwater receding from most affected areas. However, a latest spell of flooding hit western Raj shahi area amid rain and onrush of water from upstream of the Padma river, one of the country's three major rivers.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Center in its bulletin Sunday said the Padma was still flowing above danger level at several points.

Some 2.3 million people of 39 out of the country's districts have been affected by the floods, which started rolling in on July30 and engulfed most part of the country.

Full Story

Oxfam: Flood Defenses in South Asia May Have Aggravated Floods
By Anjana Pasricha New Delhi 18 August 2007

Pasricha report - Download 560k
Listen to Pasricha report

International aid agency Oxfam says poorly built flood defenses in South Asia may have aggravated the intensity of the recent flooding in the region. It calls for a reassessment of flood policies in the region, where nearly 20 million people have been affected by flooding. Anjana Pasricha has a report from New Delhi.

In a recent report, aid agency Oxfam said that defenses such as river embankments built to prevent flooding in countries such as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh can make matters worse

...............

ActionAid India's emergency adviser, P.V. Unnikrishnan, says governments need to spend more to prepare for floods, which have become an annual occurrence.

"If you make an investment of $1 in disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, it is thousand times more cost effective than reactionary responses which happen after the disaster," he noted. "Invest in early warning systems and early response mechanisms and most importantly, develop plans by engaging the local communities."

Full Story

The 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report: 'Water, a Shared Responsibility'

The triennial UN World Water Development Report is a joint undertaking of 24 UN agencies comprising UN-Water in partnership with governments and other stakeholders, and coordinated by WWAP. It presents a comprehensive picture of freshwater resources in all regions and most countries of the world as it tracks progress towards the water-related targets of the UN Millennium Development Goals and examines a range of key issues including population growth and increasing urbanization, changing ecosystems, food production, health, industry and energy, as well as risk management, valuing and paying for water and increasing knowledge and capacity. Sixteen case studies look at typical water resource challenges and provide valuable insights into different facets of the water crisis and management responses. Finally, the report outlines a set of conclusions and recommendations to guide future action and encourage sustainable use, productivity and management of our increasingly scarce freshwater resources. WWDR2 is aimed at a wide audience, including all those interested or directly involved in the formulation and implementation of water-related policies, as well as managers, researchers, teachers, students and, of course, water users themselves.

Full Story

Situation report: Asia flooding, 15 Aug 2007

Across the Asian continent, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance partners are planning and implementing assistance for more than 270,000 vulnerable people in various flood-related emergencies. Emergency responses include immediate food distribution, safe water, housing reconstruction and future risk reduction.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is supporting the work of our mission partners in the affected countries in cooperation with other members of ACT (Action by Churches Together) International. ACT members are coordinating their efforts throughout each country to ensure an effective and appropriate response to those most vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance.

Full Story

Rains & rivers flood vast areas

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Residents in a flood-hit area near Konark leave their village during the rains. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee Bhubaneswar, Aug. 12: Flash flood caused by heavy rain in upper catchment wreaked havoc in several places of southern and western parts of the state, while heavy rains are likely to lash the northern and central Orissa, as a deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal. The government has alerted all the districts to keep in readiness to face any eventuality and swing into action wherever relief and rescue operations are necessary, disaster management minister Manmohan Samal said this afternoon. S.C. Sahoo, the director of meteorology centre here, said heavy to very heavy rains were likely to occur at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Orissa during the next 48 hours under the influence of the depression. By this evening, the Vanshadhara, Rushikulya and their tributaries were rising and flowing close to danger mark following the rains since past two days. Around 500 residents of Gudari in Rayagada district were evacuated as the town was submerged by the flood water for the second time in a week, Samal said, adding that similar steps were taken in a ward in Bolangir town. Full Story

Flood-risk residents told to raise homes

5:00AM Monday August 13, 2007

Residents of the Far North town of Kaeo are angry at being told to raise their homes to reduce flood risk.

Far North District Council has ordered 10 houses in Dip Rd to be raised half a metre, at the owners' expense.

Kaeo, with a population of about 500, has been hit by two floods in the past four months. But residents worry the bill to lift their homes - one was quoted $40,000 for the job - is unlikely to be covered by insurance.

Full Story

National
Bihar flood toll mounts to 223

Patna, Aug. 11 (PTI): With 21 more deaths reported from different districts of Bihar, the toll in the floods, the worst in recent years, today mounted to 223 even as the overall situation eased further due to sunshine and little rain over the last few days.

Six deaths each were reported from Muzaffarpur and Samastipur districts, Khagaria (five), Darbhanga (three)and one from East Champaran, Disaster Management Department sources said.

Nearly 15 million people continue to face hardships like acute shortage of milk, vegetables and fuel in 7302 villages in Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Patna, Supaul, Bhagalpur, West Champaran, Katihar, Madhubani, Samastipur, Sheohar, Nalanda, Khagaria, Gopalganj, Madhepura, Araria and Begusarai districts of the state.

Samastipur accounted for the largest number of 49 deaths, followed by Darbhanga (39) and East Champaran (36).

Full Story

Flood-prone states sit on remedial Bill

Sreelatha Menon / New Delhi August 11, 2007

Floods have been unleashing themselves on states as an annual ritual with around 10 states reeling under its impact at present. However, a model Bill on zoning devised by the Centre as a long-term flood control measure has found no takers among states.

The Bill seeks setting up of flood zoning authorities, the supreme bodies for allowing any activity in areas which have been mapped as flood-prone.

Two non-flood prone states, Manipur and Rajasthan, are the only ones which have bothered to pass legislation based on the Bill, which was made over two decades ago. However, even these states have not bothered to enforce it yet, central government officials say.

Officials say the Bill, which was sent to states as early as 1975 by the water resources ministry, found only two takers because the law restricted activities in flood zones. Encroachments are blamed for the floods, which have been hitting more and more states over the years.

A law which could have kept encroachments under control will naturally be unpopular with states, says the National Disaster Management Authority, which is the new policy-making body on natural calamities under the home ministry.

The authority holds the water resources ministry responsible for not trying enough to get states to enact the legislation. However, the ministry says it can�t do anything as water is a state subject. Full Story

Zambia: Maps Help Manage Water Resources

SciDev.Net (London)

10 August 2007
Posted to the web 10 August 2007

Michael Malakata
Lusaka

Zambian water authorities are using information from satellite images to improve management of water resources in the country.

The project, Integrated Water Resource Management for Zambia (IWAREMA), is part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) TIGER initiative (see African mapping highlights risk of drought and flood) which aims to help Africa overcome water-related problems and use satellite data to close the information gap on water availability.

Full Story

Awareness, experience cut flood disease death tolls

Thu Aug 9, 2007 4:45PM IST

By Peter Apps

LONDON (Reuters) - After earthquakes, tsunamis and floods such as those ravaging south Asia, aid agencies invariably warn of serious disease outbreaks - but in reality better prevention and education mean they rarely happen.

Historically, related outbreaks of disease such as cholera often killed more people than the disasters themselves - for example, in the floods that have repeatedly hit Bangladesh.

Full Story

Forecasting System Provides Flood Warnings To Vulnerable Residents Of Bangladesh

The summer of 2004, the forecasting system developed by NCAR and Georgia Tech scientists generated these 10-day forecasts showing that the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh would likely exceed critical flood level (the horizontal dotted line) on two occasions in July. At the time, the forecasts were not fully integrated into Bangladeshi warning systems, and approximately 500 people in Bangladesh and India died in the floods. This summer, for the first time, the forecasts are being distributed directly to more than 100,000 people living in flood-prone areas along the Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers. Illustration by Thomas Hopson, UCAR.

by Staff Writers
Boulder CO (SPX) Aug 03, 2007
As catastrophic floods worsen in Bangladesh, a pilot forecasting program is being used to warn thousands of residents in selected flood-prone regions. The forecasting system was designed by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Georgia Institute of Technology. Bangladesh is one of the world's most vulnerable regions to floods. Rising waters in recent days have left dozens of people dead and several million marooned or displaced, with the toll likely to mount.

Full Story

NGOs in India, Bangladesh and Nepal gear up for flood crisis

By staff writers

4 Aug 2007

More than 150 people have died and 20 million have been displaced from heavy floods in south Asia. Reports estimate more than 12 million people in India, 5.5 million in Bangladesh and 750,000 in Nepal are affected, and face severe food shortages and vulnerability to water-bourne disease.

Regional NGOs, backed by international prtners such as Tearfund and Christian Aid, are providing communities in India with shelter, food, water and medical supplies.

Government relief efforts are also targeting those in Bangladesh but food is scarce. In Nepal devastating landslides and floods have hit the southern part of the country.

Floods, earthquakes and cyclones regularly batter India, so NGOs are experienced at responding to such disasters. This monsoon season, Tearfund. the UK-based evangelical churches' agency, says its partners have been able to respond immediately to the floods.

............................

The Discipleship Centre (DC) is running disaster risk reduction projects in five villages in the state of Orissa. These five villages have been severely affected by floods but there have been no deaths.

Full Story

Disaster Management

IRCS strengthens its Disaster Management Programme

New Delhi, 16th July 2007 A National level two-days meeting is being organized by the National Headquarters of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) to review its disaster preparedness and response activities for flood, earthquakes, cyclones etc.

While inaugurating the meeting, the Chief Guest Smt. P. Jyoti Rao, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) appreciated IRCS for distributing 24,500 units of family packs valued at Rs. 139.62 lakhs (approx) to the flood victims of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Kerala. She further complemented the IRCS for its initiation to establish video-conferencing system as a part to extend the information sharing facilities in the disaster prone States (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Uttrakhand and its six Regional warehouses.

Prof (Dr) S.P. Agarwal, Secretary General, IRCS informed that IRCS has 700 branches and with a strength of 12 million volunteers/members, it is gradually emerging as a leading Disaster Management agency. It is equipped with the best of Disaster Response tools and has a back up of National, State and District Disaster Response Team members (NDRT, SDRT & DDRT respectively) who immediately reach the disaster affected areas and start their rescue and relief operations with the support of local volunteers. He informed that with the help of its Water Sanitation Units (Watsan) in the disaster affected areas, 5000 to 10,000 litres of clean drinking water can be made available within one hour with the help of a single unit, which would suffice to the needs of 10,000 beneficiaries per day. IRCS has six large Regional Warehouses (7-12 acres) situated at strategic locations, which stores relief items that can be distributed to the States within 24 to 48 hours. At present there is availability of 80,000 family packs which cater to

80,000 vulnerable families. He further added that one-year PG Diploma Course in Disaster Preparedness and Rehabilitation started by IRCS is aimed at increasing the capacity of the managers in Government and Private Sector for effective disaster response and rehabilitation. Moreover, St. John's Ambulance, the training unit of IRCS with approximately 650 centres, organizes training classes in First Aid, Home Nursing, Hygiene & Sanitation and Mother Craft & Child Welfare.

In the meeting the officials propose to consider and finalize Community based disaster preparedness (CBDP) model for Training of Trainers. In the proposed manual inputs have been obtained from similar manuals practiced in many of the disaster prone countries such as Philippines, Sudan,Vietnam etc.

The Indian Red Cross Society has an experience of more than seven decades in the disaster relief. It plays a significant role in community level preparedness activities like cyclone shelters in Orissa, raised platforms and raised tube wells in Assam and Bihar and community radios in Andhra Pradesh. All these have been identified and recognized as some of replicable models in disaster preparedness. During the super cyclone of 2000 in Orissa, 23 cyclone shelters saved the lives of about 42,000 people and this successful model has been approved and adopted by the State Government. IRCS at present has 63 cyclone shelters and the State Government has proposed the Society to take over its have 97 cyclone shelters and make it a sustainable model which can be replicated.