PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST
Fola Ogunyoye* highlights the impact of Europe's
floods.
In January 2005 Carlisle and other parts of Cumbria experienced
floods after approximately 200 millimetres of rain fell over 48
hours. Three people died and around 2100 properties were
flooded in Carlisle. The emergency response was hampered severely
by interruptions in communication systems. All roads into Carlisle
were closed, the main flood operational centre was flooded, and
electrical power and mobile telecommunications were lost. The
summer floods experienced in the UK this year demonstrated further
how flooding can impact infrastructure, such as water supply and
sewage disposal.
Such events have wide-ranging social implications, including
dispersal and dislocation from normal daily routines and support
services. Householders must also face the clean-up task and many
have concerns over existing and future insurance. For the majority
of victims the most taxing and stressful phase is during the months
of drying out and renovation of their property. Some residents of
Carlisle were still out of their homes in September, 32 months
after the flooding. The impacts of such disruption were often
exacerbated by frustrating dealings with professionals, including
insurance personnel, loss adjustors, builders, electricians and
decorators.
Clearly, better understanding of the short- and long-term social
and health impacts of flooding on communities is required.
And this needs to inform planning decisions, seeking to avoid areas
of high flood risk. Flood management and recovery systems that
improve community resilience during extreme flood events are also
required.
Until about 1100 AD developments were shaped largely by
flood events, with inhabitants choosing flight from inundated
areas, as opposed to fighting the floods. This was followed
by a move towards flood defence, albeit relatively
unregulated. Following significant floods in the 1800s and
1900s, lessons learned from these events led to increased
formalisation of flood defence works through development of various
Acts of Parliament to legalise and support their improved
delivery. The rigidness of the Acts varied across Europe,
depending on the extent of perceived risk and local politics.
As more formal systems developed catastrophic events reduced in
frequency, but the extreme events still continued to cause
unacceptable losses, leading to increased emphases on flood
forecasting and warning. Frequent flooding with significant
loss of life continues still in some parts of Eastern Europe, where
climatic and geographical conditions are particularly challenging.
The Slovak Republic, for example, is very mountainous and as a
result has over 2,300 small river basins prone to flash flooding.
In the six years between 1996 and 2002, there were over 80 major
floods with significant human and economic losses.
Particular challenges are faced by countries which share major
rivers. Bilateral agreements now exist between many of them.
In 2004, an action programme for sustainable flood protection
commenced in the Danube basin, affecting 18 countries. This
approach is leading to improvements in information exchange,
forecasting and warning.
Flood events in the last two decades, including the Rivers Elbe
and Danube in 2002 - where 21 fatalities occurred in Saxony alone -
have influenced cultural change. There is now more focus on
co-existing with floods and managing the risks in a sustainable
way. Such an approach puts greater emphasis on strategic river
basin and catchment management. This approach is reflected in
the Netherland's 'Room for the Rivers' programme and 'Making Space
for Water' in England.
It is becoming clear that attempts to manage flood risk need to
be underpinned by detailed understanding of the challenges and how
they are likely to change in the future - principally the long- and
short-term socio-economic and environmental effects of
flooding. International collaboration and knowledge-sharing
will better enable Europe to meet future climatic challenges.
*Fola Ogunyoye is a member of the CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group
Committee and a Coastal and Rivers Director at Royal Haskoning.
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