Global to regional overview of floods fatality: the 1951–2020 period

Abstract. Floods are among the most devastating natural hazards. Human interferences along with climate change cause a lot of human and financial losses every year following the occurrence of floods. In this research, flooding events that have killed more than 10 people in the 1951–2020 period have been studied, analysing the EM-DAT database. The results show that the severity of flood-related deaths is equally distributed worldwide, but present some specific geographical patterns. The flood fatality coefficient, calculated for different countries, identified that Southern, Eastern, and South-Eastern regions of Asia have the deadliest floods in the world. The number of flood events has been increasing since 1951 and peaked in 2007, following a relatively declining trend since then. However, the number of death tolls does not follow a statistically significant trend. An examination of the number of flood events in different decades shows that the highest number of events occurred in the 2001–2010 decade, which corresponds to the largest precipitation anomaly in the world. The most casualties occurred in the decade 1991–2000. However, the lethality of floods has decreased over time, from 412 per flood in 1951–1960 to 67 in the 2011–2020 decade, probably as a consequence of a more resilient environment and better risk reduction strategies. In addition, a direct correlation was found between the number of flood events and the number of casualties with the world’s population.

Is Ubiquitous Technology for Needs Data Management a Game Changer in Humanitarian Arena?

International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management ◽

10.4018/ijiscram.2019010105 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 83-97

Author(s):

Punya Prasad Sapkota ◽

Kashif Siddiqi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Data Collection ◽

Best Practices ◽

Data Entry ◽

Humanitarian Assistance ◽

Dynamic Changes ◽

The World ◽

Collection And Management ◽

Over Time ◽

Game Changer

One in every 70 people around the world is caught up in a crisis (natural disasters, conflict, climate change, etc.) and urgently needs humanitarian assistance and protection according to the OCHA. The humanitarian community assists millions of people every year based on emerging humanitarian needs. Most of the time, the conditions inside the countries, once the humanitarian needs data is collected, are not very conducive and required simple ways to collect data like paper-based data collection with simple questions. This data is later entered into a database or spreadsheet using rigorous and time-consuming data entry efforts. Dynamic changes in needs of people; numbers of partners involved; the complexity of evolving processes; and emerging technologies over time has led to a change in processes for data collection and management. This article is an attempt to capture humanitarian data collection best practices and the use of different technologies in managing data to facilitate humanitarian needs assessment processes for the Syria crisis.

Climate change adjustments in engineering design standards: European perspective

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2021.330 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz ◽

Paweł Licznar

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Engineering Design ◽

Flood Risk ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Trend Detection ◽

Design Standards ◽

Reduction Strategies ◽

Design Floods ◽

Risk Cost ◽

Abstract The European Commission Flood Risk Directive review shows that while many nations have embraced the concepts of flood risk management, there is still quite more to do in delineating risk–cost-effective measures and developing cost estimates and financing of those measures. Not mentioned are the necessary changes to existing design standards and protocols which will have to change in order to properly encompass climate change and variability, with associated uncertainties. Adjustments in engineering design standards and changes in hazards are examined, based on trend detection in observational records and projections for the future. Issues of urban and transport (motorways and railways) drainage design are also examined. Furthermore, risk reduction strategies are discussed. Finally, a way of accounting for non-stationarity in determining design precipitation and design floods is tackled. Climate change adjustments in engineering design standards, such as design precipitation and design floods, are reviewed via examples from Europe.

The World

Shocks, States, and Sustainability ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190921019.003.0007 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 132-151

Author(s):

Thomas K. Rudel

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

World War Ii ◽

Case Studies ◽

Global Scale ◽

World War ◽

Focusing Events ◽

The World ◽

International Climate ◽

Focusing Event ◽

Comparable environmental reforms have never occurred at the global scale of governance. Segments of the dynamic described in the four case studies have taken place at the global scale. A focusing event, World War II, spurred the creation of a global governance institution, the United Nations, which later became the organizational sponsor for the ongoing international effort to counter climate change. Different kinds of focusing events, extreme weather in the form of droughts or storms, have over time contributed to an increase in the number of nations advocating for radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. These changes suggest that, over time, an international “climate club” could emerge. These trends, while fragmentary and so far unsuccessful in producing mandatory global-scale reforms, are consistent with the theoretical dynamic that has driven the national-scale reforms analyzed in the case studies.

Special Issue on the Second World Bosai Forum

Journal of Disaster Research ◽

10.20965/jdr.2020.p0821 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 821-821

Author(s):

Yuichi Ono ◽

Anawat Suppasri ◽

Elizabeth Maly ◽

Daisuke Sasaki

Keyword(s):

Risk Reduction ◽

Disaster Risk Reduction ◽

Disaster Risk ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Special Issue ◽

Poster Sessions ◽

The World ◽

Reduction Strategies ◽

The Many ◽

The World Bosai Forum/International Disaster Risk Conference@Sendai 2019 (WBF2019) held in November 2019 in Sendai City, Japan, was successful in bringing together actors from multiple sectors to advance the goals of disaster risk reduction (DRR). We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who participated in the sessions, exhibitions, poster sessions, and mini-presentations, as well as to the many local people who came to the event. According to the World Bosai Forum [1], 871 participants from 38 countries attended the WBF2019 which included 50 oral sessions, 3 keynote speeches, 47 poster sessions, 33 mini-presentations, and 14 exhibition booths, which contributed to deepening the discussion and promotion of the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2015–2030” (SFDRR) and in particular progress towards the achievement of Global Target E, to substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. Including lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, local knowledge and solutions towards advancing BOSAI were actively shared and discussed among the participants who joined this global forum, from various organizations and sectors. In particular, there were many sessions in which young people and private companies played a key role. The guest editors are pleased to publish this special issue of the Journal of Disaster Research, which is comprised of 13 articles sharing the research advancements presented at the WBF2019. We hope that this special issue on the WBF2019 will contribute to the literature on disaster science and further advances in disaster risk reduction.

Global Cancer Burden and Natural Disasters: A Focus on Asia’s Vulnerability, Resilience Building, and Impact on Cancer Care

Journal of Global Oncology ◽

10.1200/jgo.19.00037 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Roselle De Guzman ◽

Monica Malik

Keyword(s):

Natural Disasters ◽

Significant Risk ◽

Cancer Control ◽

Premature Death ◽

Noncommunicable Diseases ◽

Cancer Burden ◽

The World ◽

Reduction Strategies ◽

Risk Patients ◽

The world has been witnessing more frequent and greater intensity weather-related disasters. Natural disasters hit every continent in the world. Asia has borne the brunt in terms of frequency and the total numbers of people affected. This is mainly because of Asia’s increasing population and its large and varied landmass, with multiple river basins, mountains, flood plains, and active seismic and volcanic zones. The Union for International Cancer Control New Global Cancer Date: GLOBOCAN 2018 has estimated the global cancer burden to have risen to 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths. Asia constitutes roughly 60% of the world’s population. The region contributes nearly one half of new cancer cases and more than one half of cancer deaths worldwide. This increase in the regional burden of cancer is largely a result of socioeconomic growth and the increasing size and aging of the population. In addition to the increasing cancer cases, the string of natural disasters will cause heavy damage and a great human toll in Asia. Medical care for disaster-affected populations is focused traditionally on the management of immediate trauma and acute infections. For people with noncommunicable diseases, this presents a significant risk. Patients with cancer are especially susceptible to the disruptions that natural disasters can cause. Their special needs are largely neglected. There is a need to refocus and expand disaster risk reduction strategies and resources to include patients with noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, because these conditions are generating the bulk of disability, ill health, and premature death around the globe. Having the world’s biggest burden of cancer, Asia will definitely be facing these challenges.

Risk Reduction Strategies against Terrorist Acts in Urban Built Environments: Towards Sustainable and Human-Centred Challenges

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020901 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 901

Author(s):

Enrico Quagliarini ◽

Fabio Fatiguso ◽

Michele Lucesoli ◽

Gabriele Bernardini ◽

Elena Cantatore

Keyword(s):

Risk Mitigation ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Security Management ◽

Surveillance Systems ◽

Regulatory Frameworks ◽

Time Space ◽

Reduction Strategies ◽

Physical Elements ◽

Risk Reduction Strategies ◽

Terrorist impacts have been increasing over time in many countries, being one of the most significant threats for the Built Environment (BE), intended as a network of open spaces (streets, squares) and facing buildings, and their users. Such risk is affected by a combination of strategic functions and crowd conditions. This work traces, for the first time, the state-of-the-art consolidated Risk Mitigation and Reduction Strategies (RMRSs). Solid RMRS regulatory frameworks from all over the world are collected. The results show how classification criteria distinguish them by attack targets and typologies, effectiveness over time/space, and physical implementation versus management-based deployment. Nevertheless, these criteria seem to be too fragmented, failing in pursuing RMRSs selection in a holistic outlook. Thus, a new classification adopting the BE composing elements (physical elements, layout, access/surveillance systems, safety/security management) as key-factors is provided. Features, dependencies and coordination among them are discussed in a sustainability-based perspective, by showing how the main challenges for RMRSs’ design concern applicability, redundancy, and users’ emergency support. Safety/security management strategies have the overall highest sustainability level and play a pivotal role with respect to the other BE composing elements, which should be planned in reference to them. In addition, a human-centred approach (individuals’ interactions with BEs and RMRSs) will also be needed. These results will support efforts to include simulation-oriented approaches into RMRSs selection, effectiveness and feasibility analyses.

Drought and Flood in the Anthropocene: Modelling Feedback Mechanisms

10.5194/esd-2016-65 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Giuliano Di Baldassarre ◽

Fabian Martinez ◽

Zahra Kalantari ◽

Alberto Viglione

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Methods ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

Flood Events ◽

Human Interactions ◽

Drought And Flood ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Hydrological Extremes ◽

Reduction Strategies ◽

Abstract. Over the last few decades, numerous studies have investigated human impacts on drought and flood events, while conversely other studies have explored human responses to hydrological extremes. Yet, there is still little understanding about the dynamics resulting from their interplay, i.e. both impacts and responses. Current quantitative methods therefore fail to assess future risk dynamics and, as a result, while risk reduction strategies built on these methods often work in the short term, they can lead to unintended consequences in the longer term. In this paper, we review the puzzles and dynamics resulting from the interplay of society and hydrological extremes, and describe our initial efforts to model hydrological extremes in the Anthropocene. In particular, we first discuss the need for a novel approach to explicitly account for human interactions with both drought and flood events, and then present a stylized model simulating the reciprocal effects between water management and hydrological extremes. Lastly, we highlight the unprecedented opportunity offered by the current proliferation of big data to unravel the coevolution of hydrological extremes and society across scales, and along gradients of social and hydrological conditions.

Declining vulnerability to river floods and the global benefits of adaptation

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1414439112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (18) ◽

pp. E2271-E2280 ◽

Cited By ~ 146

Author(s):

Brenden Jongman ◽

Hessel C. Winsemius ◽

Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts ◽

Erin Coughlan de Perez ◽

Maarten K. van Aalst ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flood Risk ◽

Flood Hazard ◽

Strong Trend ◽

The People ◽

Socioeconomic Drivers ◽

The World ◽

Reduction Strategies ◽

Global Impacts ◽

River Floods ◽

The global impacts of river floods are substantial and rising. Effective adaptation to the increasing risks requires an in-depth understanding of the physical and socioeconomic drivers of risk. Whereas the modeling of flood hazard and exposure has improved greatly, compelling evidence on spatiotemporal patterns in vulnerability of societies around the world is still lacking. Due to this knowledge gap, the effects of vulnerability on global flood risk are not fully understood, and future projections of fatalities and losses available today are based on simplistic assumptions or do not include vulnerability. We show for the first time (to our knowledge) that trends and fluctuations in vulnerability to river floods around the world can be estimated by dynamic high-resolution modeling of flood hazard and exposure. We find that rising per-capita income coincided with a global decline in vulnerability between 1980 and 2010, which is reflected in decreasing mortality and losses as a share of the people and gross domestic product exposed to inundation. The results also demonstrate that vulnerability levels in low- and high-income countries have been converging, due to a relatively strong trend of vulnerability reduction in developing countries. Finally, we present projections of flood losses and fatalities under 100 individual scenario and model combinations, and three possible global vulnerability scenarios. The projections emphasize that materialized flood risk largely results from human behavior and that future risk increases can be largely contained using effective disaster risk reduction strategies.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF XXI CENTURY

Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Geography ◽

10.17721/1728-2721.2018.72.2 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 10-13

Author(s):

P. Masliak

Keyword(s):

International Relations ◽

Population Growth ◽

Political Geography ◽

Gradual Increase ◽

The Political ◽

Taxonomic Rank ◽

National State ◽

Geographical Patterns ◽

The World ◽

The main regularities of the formation of the political map of the world and its individual regions in the XXI century. Socio-geographical patterns in the field of political geography are determined by two objective factors. The first is that over time, the complexity of any territory increases. This is due to the fact that with the development of civilization and population growth, the territory of any taxonomic rank is constantly becoming more complex. More and more people and objects appear on it. Thus, smaller areas of size receive objective advantages over large ones. The second factor is determined by the fact that on the political map of the world the number of countries absolutely does not coincide with the number of nations. The latter at least 50 times more. However, also absolutely objectively, no nation can fully realize its potential without the formation of a national state. Proposed psychological-mental approach to the assessment of spatial-territorial factors in political geography. The main contradictions between the action of objective laws of forming a map of the world in the XXI century and the principles of international relations. Thus, on the basis of an objective statement that can be considered as axioms, we obtain the main interrelated patterns of forming a political map of the world in the XXI century. These include the pattern of imminent collapse of empires; the pattern of gradual increase in the number of countries on the political map of the world; the pattern of creation of national countries; regularity of the geopolitical pendulum of history. In the XXI century the importance of spatial and territorial factors in the development of the political map of the world. Moreover, their implementation will take place against the background of psychological and mental local impulses. The development of individual countries will increasingly depend on the balance of their territories in a changing geopolitical space.

Modelling of Regional Economic Metabolism

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli8040052 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 52

Author(s):

Afonso Silva ◽

Bruno Augusto ◽

Sandra Rafael ◽

Johnny Reis ◽

Myriam Lopes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Economic System ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Urban Metabolism ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Amount Of Information ◽

Future Developments ◽

The World ◽

The current linear economic system has led Europe to unsustainable development, aggravating several issues, such as climate change, limitation of resources, and pollution. As a sustainable alternative, circular economy (CE) has been promoted around the world. This economic system allows for the maximization of a product’s life, thus decreasing its environmental impact and increasing its value. The main goal of this work is to scrutinise the concepts of CE over time, from the beginning of the concept, to its implementation in Europe and its application in Portugal. In addition, the requirement for strategies that led to studies on regional urban metabolism are addressed. Another goal is to examine Portugal and see how the country is dealing with the implementation of strategies for CE, moving from concept to practice. This part of the work resulted in the creation of the REMET-UA model, a tool to assess the regional economic metabolism, which also has the potential to evaluate synergies of materials in terms of fluxes between regions, maximizing the amount of information available at this scale for municipalities and enterprises to be used, having taken into account the purpose of circular economy. The results showed that REMET-UA is fully operational and corresponds to the goal for which the model was made. Future developments have been identified and are underway to improve the model and bring it as close to reality as possible.