Floods and Droughts Research Papers (original) (raw)

New approaches that are cost effective and sustainable are needed globally to better manage flood and drought impacts. Recharging monsoon floodwaters in upstream areas to boost small-scale groundwater irrigation and to protect flood-affected urbanized areas downstream is proposed as one such approach and has been termed 'Un-derground Taming of Floods for Irrigation' (UTFI). Prospective locations for implementing UTFI are identified using a GIS-based method specifically developed here. There are three main steps to the method: (1) pre-feasibility analysis , (2) spatial data processing, and (3) index determination to rank prospects for establishing UTFI interventions. The methodology was applied to watersheds within the Ganges River Basin in South Asia. Data on the drainage density, flood frequency, flood mortality and distribution, extreme rainfall events, landuse, population density, geology, slope, soil, groundwater level, aquifer transmissivity and economic loss due to floods were used. The ranking and overlay index method adopted in arriving at the final suitability map showed that within the 43 % of the Ganges that is routinely subjected to floods, 68 % of this area had either 'very high' or 'high' suitability. Most important parameters identified from the sensitivity analysis were flood mortality and distribution , flood frequency and extent, drainage density and groundwater level. Suitability index values were generated for watersheds of different sizes which showed that smaller watersheds (100 km 2 or less) provide better results but that up to 1000 km 2 was considered acceptable. These results can be useful for prioritizing areas to apply integrated flood and drought management measures. The approach developed here may be directly transferable to other river basins.

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- Groundwater, Managed Aquifer Recharge, Floods and Droughts

As humanity enters a new era of climate‐induced unpredictability, research into the role of religion in shaping perceptions of, and responses to disaster will become increasingly important. This is particularly true of South Asia, which contains dense populations certain to be adversely affected by climate change. This contribution explores the way religion shapes and mediates responses to disaster in Pakistan. Where previous work in this field has focused on extremists and militants, mine considers currents of lived Islam that take explicit stances on questions of natural resource development. Drawing upon extensive primary data, I identify two distinct disaster cosmologies permeating state and society. First, I consider the official Islam of experts and policymakers, whose approach to development is derived from, but arguably surpasses the modernism of British and American colonial and Cold War paradigms in its dogmatic, faith‐based belief in the imperative of mastering and exploiting nature. The second is an altogether contrasting formation embedded in a political protest movement representing a marginalized constituency, the Siraiki speaking population of Southern Punjab, which mobilized flood affectees in the aftermath of the 2010 floods around issues of social and environmental justice.

- by Ali Nobil Ahmad
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- Climate Change, Political Ecology, Disaster Studies, Climate change policy

Defining flood-prone areas is particularly important for policy makers, in order to design mitigation strategies and implement flood risk management planning. The present research applies a multicriteria index method to assess flood hazard areas at a river basin scale, in a geographic information system (GIS) environment. The developed methodology has been applied for an area in northeastern Greece, by processing information of seven parameters: flow accumulation, distance from the drainage network, elevation, land use, rainfall intensity and geology. The method assigns a relative importance to each of the parameters for the occurrence and magnitude of flooding, and the relevant weight values are defined through an " analytical hierarchy process ". Subsequently, and according to the relative importance of each index, the spatial information is superimposed, resulting in a flood hazard map of the studied region, an area in northern Greece. The obtained results indicate flood-prone zones, with a very high flood hazard mainly occurring at the lowlands in the vicinity of the drainage network. The provided flood hazard map supports planning activities and mitigation plans that are crucial to protect both the agricultural activities and existing infrastructure from future flood events.

- by Konstantinos Voudouris and +1
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- Floods and Droughts

This paper discuss Natural disasters like drought, flood, cyclone, earthquake, landslide etc. strike very frequently and cause devastating impact on human life, economic and environment. Indian is one of the most vulnerable developing countries to suffer form damage due to natural disasters. Though natural disasters could not be avoided, it is possible to minimize the potential risks by employing appropriate management systems, namely developing early warning strategies; preparation and implementation of developmental plans to provide resilience; mobilization of resources including communication and post-disaster reconstruction. Space technology plays a crucial role in efficient management of disasters.

- by B Suresh Lal, PhD
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- Disaster Studies, Drought, Disaster Management, Landslides

One problem with scholarly research into land reclamation has been the tendency to overly focus on two questions - how and why did it happen? It has led to an over-emphasis on technological innovation and demographic and commercial pressures. Furthermore, it has obscured a far more fascinating and significant question – what were the social consequences of pre-industrial land reclamation? What kinds of societies emerged as a result of land reclamation? These questions are addressed through a comparative historical analysis of two cases of land reclamation in the medieval period: the peat lands of Holland (the Netherlands) and the Po Valley plains (Northern Italy). In the paper it is shown that medieval land reclamation led to the emergence of two very divergent societies, characterised by a number of different configurations; (a) power and property structure, (b) modes of exploitation, (c) economic portfolios, and (d) commodity markets. In the final section, a further question is considered. To what extent was either of these societies inherently better configured to negate the potentially disastrous effects of land reclamation on the natural environment?

- by Daniel R Curtis and +1
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- History, Economic History, Historical Geography, Physical Geography

Flooding and poverty are the two social problems that have coexisted within the rural communities of Tsholotsho district. As a result, both problems have negatively affected and disrupted the everyday pattern of lives of people living in the district. This study sought to highlight how the two problems combine to impact human societies. The objectives that the study sought to fulfil were to establish the impact of flooding on the development of rural communities, to analyse how poverty manifests itself in rural communities, to analyse the relationship that exists between flooding and poverty and to suggest ways for dealing with the two problems. A qualitative research approach, using interviews and observations, was used to gather data from the research participants. The study findings were that flooding impeded development through shifting of human populations, destruction of crops, shelter and livestock. Floods also affected human capital through causing injuries to members of the community. Poverty manifested itself in three ways – as a development barrier, a vulnerability
amplifier and a non-discriminatory agent. The study further found that a strong relationship exists between flooding and poverty because of the fact that flooding causes or worsens poverty, whereas poverty increases flood vulnerability. The study concluded that the poor
need government assistance to reconstruct shelter destroyed by floods. Furthermore, programs aimed at improving livelihoods of the poor are an indispensable imperative. This study informs policymakers and offers a methodological significance to development and disaster
practitioners. It also adds to the body of literature on flooding and poverty.

- by Oliver Mtapuri and +1
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- Sociology of Disaster, Disaster Medicine, Development Studies, Climate Change

In the present paper five significant late medieval drought events, occurred in Hungary (4 cases) and Croatia (1 Dalmatian case), are discussed based on contemporary documentary evidence. Information on long-term lack of precipitation, severe annual (or multiannual) water shortage, extreme low water levels of major rivers or bad harvest and severe food shortage in 1362, 1474, 1479, 1494 and 1507, often accompanied or followed by locust invasions, were documented both in narratives, account books, charters and letters. Apart from causing food shortage or difficulties in transportation (e.g. of salt), these greatest known documented drought events of medieval Hungary were blamed for weakening the country's military defence (e.g. low water-levels) and providing good opportunities for Ottoman-Turkish attacks. These great drought events sometimes occurred one year later than those of the neighbouring areas in Central Europe – a fact that can be probably explained by the bi- or multi-annual nature of dry spells (e.g. in and around 1474, 1479, 1507) that does not necessarily fit the frame of a calendar year.

- by Kiss Andrea
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- History, European History, Military History, Cultural History
- by Kiss Andrea
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- History, History of Science and Technology, Geography, Human Geography

Environmental justice is defined in different ways by different people. Consequently, there are also numerous environmental issues. Most of the literature in India is focused on access to environmental goods like clean air, water, energy, etc. and treat them as environmental issues. However, through the present paper the author argues that flooding and forest fires are also environmental justice issues. In the present paper the author first deals with the issue of floods and shows that because of economic inequalities, poor people living along the flood plains are at the greater risk of exposure and actual impact of floods. Thereafter, the author deals with the issue of forest fires and shows that the impact of this hazard is mostly felt by poor tribal people besides affecting the biodiversity. The author argues that there is a human contribution by way of actions or omissions (like not following the construction laws and by-laws, judicial orders, etc.), which leads to environmental harm and consequently triggers or aggravates floods and forest fires. The author analyzes green criminology and the concept of environmental harm as often propounded in the literature of green criminology, and accordingly suggest that if the main focus is upon the prevention of environmental harms (rather than simply on environmental crimes) by government and the people, then tragedies like floods and forest fires can be prevented or their effects can be minimized.

- by Gaurav Nanda
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- Criminology, Environmental Law, Green Criminology, Environmental Justice

We present the European Russia Drought Atlas (ERDA) that covers the East European Plain to the Ural Mountains from 1400-2016 CE. Like the Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) for the Euro-Mediterranean region, the ERDA is a one-half degree gridded reconstruction of summer Palmer Drought Severity Indices estimated from a network of annual tree-ring chronologies. Ensemble point-by-point regression is used to generate the ERDA with the identical protocols used for developing the OWDA. Split calibration/validation tests of the ERDA indicate that it has significant skill over most of its domain and is much more skillful than the OWDA where they overlap in the western part of ERDA domain. Comparisons to historical droughts over European Russia additionally support the ERDA's overall validity. The ERDA has been spatially smoothed and infilled using a local regression method to yield a spatially complete drought atlas back to 1400 CE. EOF analysis indicates that there are three principal modes of hydroclimatic variability in the ERDA. After Varimax rotation, these modes correlate significantly with independent climate data sets extending back to the late nineteenth century in a physically interpretable way and relate to atmospheric circulation dynamics of droughts and heatwaves over European Russia based on more recent instrumental data.

- by Tomasz Wazny
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- Dendrochronology, Dendroclimatology, Floods and Droughts

Due to Zimbabwe's vulnerability to extreme weather disasters caused by climate change the study sought to analyse the disaster response and management system in Zimbabwe on the occurrence of such disasters. The objectives of the study were to explore the effectiveness of the Zimbabwe Civil Protection Unit (ZCPU) disaster response and management systems against climate change in Zimbabwe; to identify the mechanisms in place for disaster

- by Tatenda N Maringehosi
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- Climate Change, Zimbabwe, Civil Protection, Floods and Droughts
- by Kiss Andrea
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- History, Economic History, European Studies, Food Science
- by Rajashekhar S L
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- Climate Change, Climatology, Water resources, Hydrological modelling
- by Kiss Andrea
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- History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Geography
- by Kiss Andrea
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- Physical Geography, Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, Geophysics

Legends are part of Australian folklore — the bush, adventure and a heroic ability to take a risk are all key elements of the stories elevated from a factual base that define our popular culture. Ask people in Southeast Queensland about the 1893 flood and many will tell you the ‘legend of Billy Mateer’. It is the story of stockman, Billy Mateer, who rode a horse over swollen rivers for Henry Plantagenet Somerset to warn Brisbane of approaching flood. Mentioned at a Commission of Inquiry in 1927 and in newspaper articles, the legendary or mythical status remained unresolved. In September 2016 Brisbane City Council Archivist, Annabel Lloyd uncovered a single file that revealed new evidence. In unpacking and exploring the back story of a single archive file, we offer an insight into the intersection of archival and historical practice. The status of the legend was confirmed — a classic story of heroism against the elements.

- by Margaret Cook and +1
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- Floods and Droughts, Brisbane history, Rivers and Floods

Conserving and saving water during droughts need a special attitude and great attention. Because according to a variety of studies conducted, nowadays our demand and need for water far exceed the amount of water resources available in different areas. As a result, in order to cope with this crisis, it is necessary to use water-recycling systems, reduce demands, employ optimal equipment for water consumption and use other methods which will be discussed in this study.

- by Kaveh Ostad-Ali-Askari
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- Water quality, Water resources, Water and wastewater treatment, Drought

Bangladesh has a long history of natural disasters, with over 219 natural disasters taking place between 1980 and 2008, causing over US$16 billion in total damage. The country has had a long experience of severe cyclonic events, floods, land-slides, arsenic, tornadoes and threats of earthquakes .It is estimated that about 10 million Bangladeshi citizens are affected by one or more natural disaster annually. Additionally, the country has already started feeling the adverse impact of climate changes which stand to threaten the livelihood and food security sectors in Bangladesh. In this report we are going to focus on one of the most common natural disaster in Bangladesh “ floods ”.

- by Mishuk Mamun
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- Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Impacts, Floods, Floods and Droughts

This study seeks to explore stakeholders’ perceptions, causes, and effects of extreme climatic events, such as droughts and floods, in the Wa West District of Ghana’s Upper West Region. A multi-stage sampling procedure is used to select 184 respondents. Data collection methods include individual questionnaire administration, focus group discussions, and a stakeholders’ forum in the Wa West District Assembly. While frequencies are used to show respondents’ perceptions of the severity of climate change effects, a treatmenteffect model is used to determine the factors influencing farmers’ choices of on-farm coping strategies over off-farm activities in both periods of drought and flood. Findings are the following: farmers perceive that climate change is real and has severe consequences. Consequently, they resort to both on-farm and off-farm strategies to cope with the effects of climate change. While men mostly adopt the former, women adopt the latter. Both strategies are, however, not...

- by Owusu Asare Kwabena
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- Climate Change, Coping Strategies, Drought, Households
- by Kiss Andrea
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- History, Military History, Cultural History, Economic History

This is a report prepared for our teacher as an assignment. It covers a wide scope of water as a resource. Ranging from water usage in agriculture,it goes ahead to explain how different methods are used to control water when it goes to its extremes i.e in droughts and floods. There is an interesting comparison of sanitation between a mid economy country and a low economy country.

- by VICTOR N ONGERA
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- Water resources, Drought and Water Stress, Floods and Droughts, Sewage Treatment

We present the European Russia Drought Atlas (ERDA) that covers the East European Plain to the Ural Mountains from 1400–2016 CE. Like the Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) for the Euro-Mediterranean region, the ERDA is a one-half degree gridded reconstruction of summer Palmer Drought Severity Indices estimated from a network of annual tree-ring chronologies. Ensemble point-by-point regression is used to generate the ERDA with the identical protocols used for developing the OWDA. Split calibration/validation tests of the ERDA indicate that it has significant skill over most of its domain and is much more skillful than the OWDA where they overlap in the western part of ERDA domain. Comparisons to historical droughts over European Russia additionally support the ERDA’s overall validity. The ERDA has been spatially smoothed and infilled using a local regression method to yield a spatially complete drought atlas back to 1400 CE. EOF analysis indicates that there are three principal modes of hydroclimatic variability in the ERDA. After Varimax rotation, these modes correlate significantly with independent climate data sets extending back to the late nineteenth century in a physically interpretable way and relate to atmospheric circulation dynamics of droughts and heatwaves over European Russia based on more recent instrumental data.

- by Leonid Agafonov
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- Oceanography, Dendrochronology, Climate Dynamics, Atmospheric sciences

... Suzan Taha, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Amman, Jordan. ... Technological upgrading andrehabilitation of networks, advances in irrigation technology and in the domestic domain through water saving infrastructure and devices.... more

- by suzan Taha
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- Climate Change, Water, Environmental Management, Multidisciplinary

- by Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic
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- Business, Geography, Climate Change, Coping Strategies
- by LOLIG VICTOR
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- Climate Change, Coping Strategies, Drought, Households