Resource Author Francisco Rodriguez Higueras
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Disasters in their aftermath bring forth rising criticism leveled at those responsible for not only managing risks and disaster prevention, but also to the establishment accountable for urban planning. When disasters are deadly, with significant number of deaths involved, and stark pictures of horror, suffering, and loss widely exposed by the media – then, the criticism will increase to a crescendo of “poor management and negligence”. The deadly flash floods rang the alarms for town planners to heed and pay more attention to environmental standards in rapid urbanization and industrialization. The full breadth of environmental realities and the state of natural resources together with steps which guarantees human safety should have provided the over-arching framework in making t decisions pertaining to transportation, industry and urban construction. (i)

Handling the challenges of flood risks in densely populated areas has been a constant historical factor in human settlements. Most cities are located in the valleys, flood plains and the coasts. Cities through their nature of having large impervious areas produce large run-offs which the drainage network cannot accommodate, and are potentially exposed to floods. It has been acknowledged that the damage potential of floods in the cities is extraordinarily high. Given the high population density in urban areas, even small scale flash floods may cause considerable damage. At the extreme end of the disaster spectrum, urban flash floods can result in disasters that set back development drastically. With climate change and global warming resulting in increased frequency of flood s and their magnitude, continuing urbanization and disproportionate growth, the economic costs of flash floods will soar. Sustainable management of urban flood risks is becoming an increasingly challenging task for city/municipal authorities. (ii)

Flash floods are distinctly characterized by very swift rise and recession, associated with debris flows and landslides, occurring along channels and rivers with small drainage area. Their distinct features paint a stark picture. Flash floods happen suddenly, easily and frequently, are very destructive, and difficult to protect against. Of late, flash floods brought extremely destructive disasters e.g. the recent flash floods in Istanbul, Turkey. In most cases it involves a break in flood protection facility.

Over the last several years, I have written hundreds of articles about weather events, and quite a few people have read them, and many of these pieces have been picked up by e-zines, other websites, trade publications, and even a few have appeared on think tank websites.

Disaster risk reduction in identified potential flood prone areas need to focus on extent of exposure and vulnerability. Exposure of urban dwellers close to river streams including infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, power houses) located in the same area requires greater attention. Vulnerability could be minimized through increasing preparedness by way of flash flood guidance, community awareness campaigns, early warning systems, and planned coordinated emergency procedures. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe in January 2005 called for the early warning system to be people centred, providing timely and reliable warning to the people at risk.

At this point in time, we have the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, headquartered in Hawaii, that watches all the tidal buoys in the Pacific Ocean at all times and gives us a very clear picture of what is going on out there. While they can’t do much to warn of a tsunami when it first starts it’s trek from the ocean floor, they certainly can track it within a few minutes of when it will land.

My heart goes out to the victims of Typhoon Ketsana and the recent Samoan tsunami, but I’m relieved that our relatively new typhoon tracking system has seen it’s first real test.

Many scientists agree that at some point in the 21st century, we will see a quake and tsunami on the scale of the Cascadian Tsunami from 300 years ago. Without a working warning system in place, the results could be far worse than the Indonesian Tsunami of 2004.

Now that our tidal warning system has seen a full dress rehearsal, I feel much better about being prepared if the big one does indeed come