According to the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT), over the last seventy years, floods have shown the fastest rate of increase relative to any other type of disasters. Devastation due to these events occurs almost daily. Even though our technological capabilities for dealing with floods have advanced rapidly over the same period, and while global economic growth per capita has doubled, flood events have become ever more disastrous. Does this mean that our technological developments have advanced independently from the social and wider ecological needs? Flood Risk: The Holistic Perspective is a direct response to this question and it argues that this paradoxical situation is a result from our narrow and fragmented perception of reality which has been characteristic of our academic disciplines and government agencies. It suggests that the way forward can be found only if we broaden our view and learn how the natural or social phenomena can provoke a response in a society, or a social group, which in turn can trigger the technical developments, and so on, again and again, in what has the potential to become a network of interactions and relationships through positive feedback (or coevolving) cycles. The holistic perspective however may raise the following question: If everything is connected to everything else, how can we ever hope to understand anything? Our response draws from the understandings brought by complexity theory where individual elements coevolve together both in development and application. This recognition opens a new analysis which goes beyond the direct objects or actors of concern (risk forecasting, early warning, land-use planning technology and systems for example), and into the relationships between them. The book suggests that our initial response to this and many other challenges is to change our perception from a disciplinary and defensive one to a progressive (or transcendental) and transdiciplinary, i.e., the one that turns challenges into the possibilities that can re-shape our future. The book is structured in eight chapters. Chapter 1 provides exposure to the complexity of flood-related issues and illustrates diversity of multiple points of view. Chapter 2 elaborates on the history of holistic thinking with connection to the flood resilience process. Chapter 3 discusses the holistic risk governance approach which progresses beyond the integrated urban flood management. Chapter 4 describes the Green Cities Initiative, an initiative which is essentially holistic in its nature as it aims to improve transport, energy efficiency, industrial metabolism including water supply and distribution as well as drainage and sewerage services through the holistic lens of interactions between different sectors. Chapter 5 discusses various risk assessment practices and it concludes that any practice that omits social, ethical and wider ecological points of view will be severely restricted in its scope and its reach. Chapter 6 describes the root causes of floods in the Pasig-Marikina River Basin in Metro Manila, Philippines. Chapter 7 reflects upon the key issues and challenges from 2011 Thailand floods. Finally, Chapter 8 presents some of the key aspects concerning urban stormwater management practice in Beijing, China.

Even with all the advances in technologies, humans continue to suffer from the consequences of flooding century after century. This book covers two pertinent topics: flood risk and flood management. Experts world-wide share their knowledge on these topics and highlight solutions to the flooding problems in the 21st century. Topics discussed in this book include spatial explicit multi-criteria flood risk; identification of social obstacles in solving flooding problems in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina; participative planning processes in flood risk management and in integrated watershed management; new economic instrument for integrated management of muddy flow risks; flood hazard mapping using hydrodynamic modelling approach; and simulation of flood reduction by means of complex structural measures using hydrodynamic modelling and aerial photogrammetry-derived digital surface model (DSM).

The Elkhorn River originates in north-central Nebraska and empties into the Platte River just west of Omaha. One of the first written records of the Elkhorn describes a flood. A flood hindered travel up the river by the valley's first non-Indian settlers. Decade after decade, floods have swept away mill dams, destroyed crops, drowned stock, soaked inventories, filled basements, undercut roads, washed out railroads and bridges, turned unfortunate riverside homesaEURO"even a dance hallaEURO"into unwieldy watercraft, and killed people. Everyone in the Elkhorn Valley agreed the Flood of 1944 was the worst in history. Until the deadly Flood of 2010 took the title. From a perspective unusual on the Great PlainsaEURO"the problem of too much wateraEURO" Flood on the Tracks offers an intimate portrait of life in the Elkhorn River Basin of northeast Nebraska. In a region often defined by aridity, rivers and their basins have provided sustenance, shelter, fertile soil, and overland highways. In many ways Plains rivers organize human lives. When they overflow, which they can be counted on to do, they disorganize them. Using Plains Indian winter counts, postcards, photographs, newspaper accounts, government records, and more, Flood on the Tracks chronicles the river's natural and human history from the Plains Indians into the twenty-first century. The Elkhorn's floods show us how the nature of disaster has changed and how Plainsfolk liveaEURO"and dieaEURO"with a river.

Responsibility for flood risk management in the United States is a shared responsibility between multiple Federal, State, and local government agencies with a complex set of programs and authorities. Nationally, both the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have programs to assist states and communities in reducing flood damages and promoting sound flood risk management. The authority to determine how land is used in floodplains and to enforce flood-wise requirements is entirely the responsibility of state and local government. Floodplain management choices made by state and local officials, in turn, impact the effectiveness of federal programs to mitigate flood risk and the performance of federal flood damage reduction infrastructure. One key challenge is to ensure that as the public and government leaders make flood risk management decisions, they integrate environmental, social, and economic factors and consider all available tools to improve public safety. Importantly, the public must be educated both as to the risks they face and actions they can take to reduce their risks. Because of this complex arrangement of responsibilities, only a life-cycle, comprehensive and collaborative systems approach will enable communities to sustain an effective reduction of risks from flooding.

Each year, floods cause an enormous amount of global economic and social damage, impacting transportation systems, water supplies, agriculture, and health. Response management to catastrophic floods require increased measures involving integrated planning, adaptation, and recovery strategies in order to protect against human loss. Decision Support Methods for Assessing Flood Risk and Vulnerability is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of effective models and tools focused on the diagnosis of vulnerability to flooding risks and evaluates and measures the impact of floods on socio-economic wellbeing. While highlighting topics such as hydrological events, soil erosion, and flood vulnerability, this publication explores methods of identifying appropriate adaptation strategies. This book is ideally designed for researchers, students, academicians, policymakers, government officials, and technology developers seeking current empirical research findings to be used to improve the overall understanding of the flood phenomenon.

The United States has one of the largest and costliest flood control systems in the world, even though only a small proportion of its land lies in floodplains. Rivers by Design traces the emergence of the mammoth U.S. flood management system, which is overseen by the federal government but implemented in conjunction with state governments and local contractors and levee districts. Karen M. O'Neill analyzes the social origins of the flood control program, showing how the system initially developed as a response to the demands of farmers and the business elite in outlying territories. The configuration of the current system continues to reflect decisions made in the nineteenth century and early twentieth. It favors economic development at the expense of environmental concerns.O'Neill focuses on the creation of flood control programs along the lower Mississippi River and the Sacramento River, the first two rivers to receive federal flood control aid. She describes how, in the early to mid-nineteenth century, planters, shippers, and merchants from both regions campaigned for federal assistance with flood control efforts. She explains how the federal government was slowly and reluctantly drawn into water management to the extent that, over time, nearly every river in the United States was reengineered. Her narrative culminates in the passage of the national Flood Control Act of 1936, which empowered the Army Corps of Engineers to build projects for all navigable rivers in conjunction with local authorities, effectively ending nationwide, comprehensive planning for the protection of water resources.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.Proven methods for preventing and mitigating bridge and highway flood scour Offering detailed guidelines on bridge scour countermeasures, this comprehensive resource provides a proactive strategy for the design and construction of bridges to prevent scour, as well as a reactive plan for post-flood disaster management. Topics discussed include erosion, causes of scour, AASHTO design codes, hydrology, hydraulics, scour analysis, inspection methods, and modern materials technology. Real-world case studies illustrate the concepts presented. The authoritative information in this practical guide will help you to develop more efficient and cost-effective design processes and bridge management systems for river bridges subjected to floods. Flood Scour for Bridges and Highways covers: Floods, scour problems, and mitigation River instability caused by flow obstructions Past failures and bridges vulnerable to failure Geotechnical and hydraulic issues at scour-critical rivers and bridges Hydrology, floods, and scour-critical bridges Estimating scour depths and selecting applicable countermeasures Inspections, ratings, and monitoring countermeasures FHWA, HEC-18, and HEC-23 scour countermeasures as remediation Innovative methods of flood control and disaster management

The Elkhorn River originates in north-central Nebraska and empties into the Platte River just west of Omaha. One of the first written records of the Elkhorn describes a flood. A flood hindered travel up the river by the valley's first non-Indian settlers. Decade after decade, floods have swept away mill dams, destroyed crops, drowned stock, soaked inventories, filled basements, undercut roads, washed out railroads and bridges, turned unfortunate riverside homesaEURO"even a dance hallaEURO"into unwieldy watercraft, and killed people. Everyone in the Elkhorn Valley agreed the Flood of 1944 was the worst in history. Until the deadly Flood of 2010 took the title. From a perspective unusual on the Great PlainsaEURO"the problem of too much wateraEURO" Flood on the Tracks offers an intimate portrait of life in the Elkhorn River Basin of northeast Nebraska. In a region often defined by aridity, rivers and their basins have provided sustenance, shelter, fertile soil, and overland highways. In many ways Plains rivers organize human lives. When they overflow, which they can be counted on to do, they disorganize them. Using Plains Indian winter counts, postcards, photographs, newspaper accounts, government records, and more, Flood on the Tracks chronicles the river's natural and human history from the Plains Indians into the twenty-first century. The Elkhorn's floods show us how the nature of disaster has changed and how Plainsfolk liveaEURO"and dieaEURO"with a river.

Effective urban drainage to manage stormwater and control flooding depends on good engineering, especially when an environmentally sustainable approach is being applied. This new text focuses on green methods and modelling techniques. It covers the principles of hydrology and drainage, low-impact-development (LID) designs, computer modelling techniques, the evaluation of existing systems, and planning for both new development and urban renewal. It outlines design procedures using examples, spreadsheet models, photos, and real-world design examples. Unlike other books, which focus on extreme events, this book covers hydrologic designs for both extreme and frequent events, and reflects the latest revolution in stormwater LID management, and takes a quantitative as well as a qualitative approach. PowerPoint (R) presentations and Excel (R) computer models are provided to follow and build on the exercises in the book. It is written especially for students on urban watershed courses, and also for those studying urban planning, landscaping, water resources, hydrology and hydraulics.