scholarly journals Challenges to implementing bottom-up flood risk decision analysis frameworks: how strong are social networks of flooding professionals?

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5657-5673 ◽  
Author(s):  
James O. Knighton ◽  
Osamu Tsuda ◽  
Rebecca Elliott ◽  
M. Todd Walter
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Bottom Up

Abstract. Recent developments in bottom-up vulnerability-based decision analysis frameworks present promising opportunities for flood practitioners to simplify complex decisions regarding risk mitigation and climate adaptation. This family of methodologies relies on strong social networks among flood practitioners and the public to support careful definition of stakeholder-relevant thresholds and vulnerabilities to hazards. In parallel, flood researchers are directly considering distinct atmospheric mechanisms that induce flooding to readily incorporate information on future climate projections. We perform a case study of flood professionals actively engaged in flood risk mitigation within Tompkins County, New York, USA, a community dealing with moderate flooding, to gage how much variance exists among professionals from the perspective of establishing a bottom-up flood mitigation study from an atmospheric perspective. Results of this case study indicate disagreement among flooding professionals as to which socioeconomic losses constitute a flood, disagreement on anticipated community needs, weak understanding of climate–weather–flood linkages, and some disagreement on community perceptions of climate adaptation. In aggregate, the knowledge base of the Tompkins County flood practitioners provides a well-defined picture of community vulnerability and perceptions. Our research supports the growing evidence that collaborative interdisciplinary flood mitigation work could reduce risk, and potentially better support the implementation of emerging bottom-up decision analysis frameworks for flood mitigation and climate adaptation.

scholarly journals Challenges to Implementing Bottom-Up Flood Risk Decision Analysis Frameworks: How Strong are Social Networks of Flooding Professionals?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James O. Knighton ◽  
Osamu Tsuda ◽  
Rebecca Elliott ◽  
M. Todd Walter
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Bottom Up

Abstract. Recent developments in bottom-up vulnerability-based decision analysis frameworks present promising opportunities for flood practitioners to simplify complex decisions regarding risk mitigation and climate adaptation. This family of methodologies relies on strong social networks among flood practitioners and the public to support careful definition of stakeholder relevant thresholds and vulnerabilities to hazards. In parallel, flood researchers are directly considering distinct atmospheric mechanisms that induce flooding to readily incorporate information on future climate projections. We perform a case study of flood professionals actively engaged in flood risk mitigation within Tompkins County, NY US, a community dealing with moderate flooding, to gage how much variance exists among professionals from the perspective of establishing a bottom-up flood mitigation study from an atmospheric perspective. Results of this case study indicate disagreement among flooding professionals as to which socio-economic losses constitute a flood, disagreement on anticipated community needs, weak understanding of climate-weather-flood linkages, and some disagreement on community perceptions on climate adaptation. In aggregate, the knowledge base of the Tompkins County flood practitioners provides a well-defined picture of community vulnerability and perceptions. Our research supports the growing evidence that collaborative interdisciplinary flood mitigation work could reduce risk, and potentially better support the implementation of emerging bottom-up decision analysis frameworks for flood mitigation and climate adaptation.

scholarly journals Structuring Climate Adaptation through Multiple Perspectives: Framework and Case Study on Flood Risk Management

Water ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohanasundar Radhakrishnan ◽  
Assela Pathirana ◽  
Richard Ashley ◽  
Chris Zevenbergen
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Multiple Perspectives

Short-duration rainfall extremes in very high-resolution climate projections: historical evaluation and future projections

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Olsson ◽  
Johanna Sörensen ◽  
Yiheng Du ◽  
Dong An ◽  
Peter Berg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Climate Factors ◽  
Hourly Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Extremes ◽  
Very High

<p>In general terms, climate adaptation in cities is highly complicated by the very high required spatial and temporal resolution. The high resolution is needed to capture both the full variability of small-scale high-impact weather phenomena and the associated response from the mosaic of land uses and buildings in urban environments. Most commonly available climate model simulations and projections are too spatially coarse (≥10 km) for a proper assessment of many important urban climate impacts. </p><p>In terms of water-related impacts, a key issue concerns the reproduction of local short-duration rainfall extremes (cloudbursts) that may cause pluvial flooding. An accurate reproduction of the convective generation of such extremes requires a spatial resolution of at least 5 km, preferably even higher, in convection-permitting regional climate models (CPRCM). Conceivably, estimates of future changes in cloudburst characteristics and associated statistics based on CPRCM simulations will be more reliable than today’s estimates based on non-CP RCMs. Because of the extreme computational demand, however, the number of CPRCM simulations made is still rather low and generally limited to small domains and/or short time slices.</p><p>But many efforts are currently being made in this direction and the main focus of this presentation will be a case study evaluation of hourly rainfall extremes from 3×3 km² convection-permitting simulations with the HARMONIE-climate model over the Nordic region. The case study will focus on the region around the Öresund strait, that connects southern Sweden and eastern Denmark. This region contains the cities Malmö and Copenhagen that were both hit by heavy cloudburst in the last decade, that caused severe flooding and substantial damage to infrastructure.</p><p>The presentation will include different aspects of the simulations and their applicability:</p><ul><li><em>Historical performance.</em> Evaluation of reference period simulations, with both ERA-Interim and GCM boundaries, against high-resolution observations, focusing at the reproduction of short-duration (sub-daily) extremes but also e.g. diurnal cycle and spatial variability.</li> <li><em>Future changes.</em> Assessment in terms of climate factors for different durations, return periods and future time horizons. A comparison is made with climate factors estimated from lower-resolution, non-convection permitting downscalings based on the same GCM projections.</li> <li><em>End-user practices.</em> A discussion of what resolution that is needed in order to meet different stakeholders’ needs in the light of climate adaptation. The key question is how the output from CPRCM simulations can be processed and interpreted to provide an added value. </li> </ul><p>Besides the above analyses, two additional related investigations will be presented:</p><ul><li>Lessons learnt from experiments of tailored “urban downscaling” of climate projections down to 1×1 km² and 15 min over selected European urban regions (Stockholm, Bologna, Amsterdam) performed in the Urban SIS project.</li> <li>An evaluation of hourly rainfall extremes over selected European countries in a 11×11 km² EURO-CORDEX ensemble, including spatial patterns and temperature scaling of the estimated future changes.</li> </ul>

scholarly journals Long-Term Improvement in Precautions for Flood Risk Mitigation: A Case Study in the Low-Lying Area of Central Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Dinh Nguyen ◽  
Fumikazu Ubukata ◽  
Quang Tan Nguyen ◽  
Hoang Ha Vo
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Disaster Prevention ◽  
Central Vietnam ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Space Function ◽  
Major Floods ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

AbstractLocal actors appear as inseparable components of the integrated flood risk mitigation strategy in Vietnam. Recognizing this fact, this study examined the long-term improvement in precautions taken by commune authorities and households between two major floods in 1999 and 2017 by applying both quantitative and qualitative methods. Two flood-prone villages were selected for a survey; one in a rural area and the other in a suburban area of Thua Thien Hue Province, central Vietnam. The findings indicate that most villagers doubted the structural works’ efficacy and were dissatisfied with the current efforts of local authorities. Households’ self-preparation thus became the decisive factor in mitigating risk. While most households have paid greater attention to flood precautions in 2017, others seem to be lagging. Poverty-related barriers were the root causes restraining households in both rural and suburban villages. The suburban riverine residents were further identified as vulnerable by their limitations in upgrading structural measures, which was ascribed to the inconsistency in the ancient town’s preservation policy. This multidimensional comparison, in terms of vulnerability, emphasized the importance of space-function links in the suburb and the contradictions of different policy initiatives, such as landscape rehabilitation, disaster prevention, and livelihood maintenance.

scholarly journals Fragmentation, commodification and responsibilisation in the governing of flood risk mitigation in Sweden

2020 ◽  
pp. 239965442094072
Author(s):  
Per Becker
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Liberal Society ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
The Face ◽  
Systemic Constraints

The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the governing of flood risk mitigation in advanced liberal society, through an in-depth Swedish case study. By combining social network analysis and genealogy, this paper investigates who is involved, how they organise, their modes of thinking, how they mitigate flood risk, as well as how such regime of practises have come into being. The findings suggest dominant rationalities that reduce the actual complexity of flood risk in spatial and temporal terms to fit the legal and institutional environment. The resulting fragmentation is associated with a commodification of flood risk mitigation, in which actors expect to be able to procure modules of safety and sustainability on the market. This commodification materialises in a vacuum of responsibilisation, when obligations are imposed without commensurate guidelines. These processes of fragmentation, commodification, and responsibilisation are core constituents of neoliberalisation, which is clearly shaping the governing of flood risk mitigation even in Sweden; a bastion of the strong welfare state. Regardless of the notable individual capacities of the involved actors, systemic constraints in the governmentality have generated these detrimental processes in the face of overwhelming complexity. These systemic constraints must be removed or overcome for the governing of flood risk mitigation to match the complexity of flood risk in the catchment area. This paper thus provides input that can inform policy changes for a more sustainable future in the face of unprecedented change.

scholarly journals Planning and Suitability Assessment of Large-scale Nature-based Solutions for Flood-risk Reduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Mubeen ◽  
Laddaporn Ruangpan ◽  
Zoran Vojinovic ◽  
Arlex Sanchez Torrez ◽  
Jasna Plavšić
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Suitability Assessment ◽  
Suitability Maps

AbstractAdverse effects of climate change are increasing around the world and the floods are posing significant challenges for water managers. With climate projections showing increased risks of storms and extreme precipitation, the use of traditional measures alone is no longer an option. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) offer a suitable alternative to reduce the risk of flooding and provide multiple benefits. However, planning such interventions requires careful consideration of various factors and local contexts. The present paper provides contribution in this direction and it proposes a methodology for allocation of large-scale NBS using suitability mapping. The methodology was implemented within the toolboxes of ESRI ArcMap software in order to map suitability for four types of NBS interventions: floodplain restoration, detention basins, retention ponds, and river widening. The toolboxes developed were applied to the case study area in Serbia, i.e., the Tamnava River basin. Flood maps were used to determine the volume of floodwater that needs to be stored for reducing flood risk in the basin and subsequent downstream areas. The suitability maps produced indicate the potential of the new methodology and its application as a decision-support tool for selection and allocation of large-scale NBS.

Appraising sustainable flood risk management in the Pearl River Delta's coastal megacities: a case study of Hong Kong, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. K. S. Chan ◽  
O. A. Adekola ◽  
G. Mitchell ◽  
A. T. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
The Pearl River

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) region has experienced rapid economic and population growth in the last three decades. The delta includes coastal megacities, such as Hong Kong. These low-lying urbanised coastal regions in the PRD are vulnerable to flood risks from unpredictable climatic conditions. These can result in increasing storm surges, rising sea level and intensified rainstorms causing coastal and inland flooding, all of which impact the delta. This paper has taken the coastal megacity of Hong Kong as a case, focusing on two study sites: Shenzhen River and Tai O town, chosen for their peculiar inland and coastal flood problems. A sustainable flood risk appraisal (SFRA) template was developed against which sustainable flood risk management (FRM) practices in these sites were benchmarked. Thirty-eight stakeholders were interviewed during this research in order to understand the current FRM practices, their barriers and their constraints. It was found that FRM in the case study currently focuses on hard engineering, while neglecting other important sustainability indicators. A SFRA practice that takes public participation, equity of flood preparedness and environmental friendly into account could be effective in achieving sustainable flood risk mitigation practices in Hong Kong and other coastal cities in the PRD.

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