Streamflow (Recent Trends - North America) -- Summary

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In a perceptive study of 20th-century streamflow trends, Lins and Slack (1999) state that "floods and droughts cause more damage annually in the United States than any other natural disaster," and that "there is an increasing trend in both flood damage and drought vulnerability." However, they note that "most of the flood damage increase stems from continuing urban and suburban development on floodplains," and that "drought vulnerability increase is from development in regions of lower renewable water supplies." Nevertheless, there is a widespread perception, as the two researchers describe it, that "extreme hydrologic events are increasing in frequency and/or magnitude." In particular, they cite the Mississippi floods of 1993, the widespread United States flooding of 1997 in the West, Upper Midwest and Ohio Valley, as well as the droughts of 1988 and 1995-96, as giving "rise to speculation that floods and droughts are increasing, possibly in response to greenhouse warming," which is a concept that is widely promulgated by the world's climate alarmists. Consequently, in this brief Summary we review what has been learned about this contention as it pertains to North America.

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MRC discusses ways to manage Mekong River resources

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) discussed a plan on developing the river's basin, fisheries, navigation, flood management and mitigation, irrigation, and watershed management, Laos' newspaper Vientiane Times reported Thursday.

Delegate to the 26th meeting of the MRC Joint Committee in Laos on Wednesday also touched upon a new drought management program, and hydrological conditions in the lower Mekong basin.

The meeting attended by representatives from four members of the MRC, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and partner organizations, also discussed the MRC's achievements last year.

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.

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U.S., Mexico to discuss Colorado River

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:56 p.m. August 13, 2007

DENVER – The United States and Mexico have agreed to discuss a range of issues surrounding the Colorado River, a key water source for both nations, the U.S. Interior Department said Monday.

U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne released a joint U.S.-Mexico statement saying the discussions would include the effects of climate change and drought; urban, agricultural and environmental water needs in both nations; wildlife habitat in the Colorado River Delta; and such programs as sea water desalination to augment supplies.

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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.

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Drought In South Fla. Could Affect Local Grocery Prices

POSTED: 6:55 am EDT August 8, 2007

UPDATED: 7:37 am EDT August 8, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Along with the rise in mercury, the price for power and produce will be going up. A drought has cost the state more than $100 million so far this year and the state is warning that prices could go up at the grocery store.Oranges, orange juice, sugar products and vegetables may all go up in price. Officials planned to meet Wednesday to go over possible options to prevent the price hike.Farmers around Lake Okeechobee say there isn't enough water to get them through the dry season. Some said they wouldn't even plant their crops this season.Lake Okeechobee has been below its normal level for the past 18 months. The lake stores irrigation for about 700,000 acres making it the states largest agricultural area and one of the top three in the country.State Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson warned that a downturn in the late spring crop will mean higher prices in stores for certain products and a lot of people would be out of work.

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