Flood Hazards And Health

Flood hazards and the risks they present to human health are an increasing concern across the globe, in terms of lives, well-being and livelihoods, and the public resources needed to plan for, and deal with, the health impacts. This book is the first detailed assessment and discussion of the global health implications of flooding and future flood risk. It combines an analysis of the human health impacts of flooding with analysis of individual and societal response to those risks, and sets these findings in light of potential future increases in flood hazard as a result of climate change. Written and edited by leading researchers and practitioners on flood hazards and human health, the volume brings together findings from epidemiological, environmental, social and institutional studies, with analysis rooted in an approach that emphasizes the developmental as well as environmental causes of flood risk, and the socially differentiated nature of vulnerability and coping capacity. The first part of the book sets out the scope of the issues, and provides a detailed discussion of the global health impacts of floods and the nature of human response to the health risks posed. The second part presents new research evidence on specific health aspects of floods covering mental health, infectious diseases, local level responses and the responses of health systems - drawing on case study material from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, including the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The conclusion synthesizes insights from the previous chapters and discusses priorities for policy, practice and research. It draws out implications for present and future adaptation to flooding, and emphasizes the need to integrate action on health with the broader agenda of long-term risk reduction. This is indispensable reading for professionals and researchers working on hazard and disaster planning, risk reduction and public health in all countries and contexts.

Flood hazards and the risks they present to human health are an increasing concern across the globe, in terms of lives, well-being and livelihoods, and the public resources needed to plan for, and deal with, the health impacts. This book is the first detailed assessment and discussion of the global health implications of flooding and future flood risk. It combines an analysis of the human health impacts of flooding with analysis of individual and societal response to those risks, and sets these findings in light of potential future increases in flood hazard as a result of climate change. Written and edited by leading researchers and practitioners on flood hazards and human health, the volume brings together findings from epidemiological, environmental, social and institutional studies, with analysis rooted in an approach that emphasizes the developmental as well as environmental causes of flood risk, and the socially differentiated nature of vulnerability and coping capacity. The first part of the book sets out the scope of the issues, and provides a detailed discussion of the global health impacts of floods and the nature of human response to the health risks posed. The second part presents new research evidence on specific health aspects of floods covering mental health, infectious diseases, local level responses and the responses of health systems - drawing on case study material from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, including the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The conclusion synthesizes insights from the previous chapters and discusses priorities for policy, practice and research. It draws out implications for present and future adaptation to flooding, and emphasizes the need to integrate action on health with the broader agenda of long-term risk reduction. This is indispensable reading for professionals and researchers working on hazard and disaster planning, risk reduction and public health in all countries and contexts.

Flooding is one of the most frequent and severe disasters in Hoi An City. The analysis of flood events in Hoi An revealed the impacts of flooding on many aspects of human life in this area including severe health risk. However, through literature review, the research showed that few studies about health risk assessment were performed in Vietnam in general and in Hoi An City specifically. Therefore, assessment of the health risk due to flooding is conducted in this research. The goal of this study is to develop a method to assess human health risk due to flooding with a focus on communicable diseases. It also aims to reduce health risk due to flooding by exploring areas that are most at risk. The methodology consists of (i) creating the health susceptibility map based on the Health Susceptibility Index (HSI); (ii) integration of health susceptibility with exposure information into vulnerability information; (iii) spatial analysis of health risk by the combination between health vulnerability and flood hazard information; (iv) evaluating the research results with the incidence of diseases in reality. The health risk map is the first holistic map of its kind for defining the spatial distribution of risk areas in Hoi An City.

Flooding is a global phenomenon that claims numerous lives worldwide each year. Set up to promote research into this area of study, this book contains the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Flood Recovery, Innovation and Response. When flooding occurs in populated areas, it can cause substantial damage to property as well as threatening human life. In addition, many more people must endure the homelessness, upset and disruption that are left in the wake of floods. The increased frequency of flooding in the last few years, coupled with climate change predictions and urban development, suggest that these statistics are set to worsen in the future. Apart from the physical damage to buildings, contents and loss of life, which are the most obvious impacts of floods upon households, other more indirect losses are often overlooked. These indirect and intangible impacts are generally associated with disruption to normal life as well as longer term health issues including stress related illness. Flooding represents a major barrier to the alleviation of poverty in many parts of the developing world, where vulnerable communities are often exposed to sudden and life threatening events. This book covers a wide range of technical and management topics related to flooding and its impacts on communities, property and people. These include: Flood Modelling; Risk Assessment; Flood Management; Considering ‘Blue-Green’ Approaches to Flood Risk Management; Property-level Flooding and Health Consequences; State-of-the-art Flooding-damage Survey and Assessment; Emergency Preparedness and Response; Adaptation to Flood Risk.

A 360-degree view of the response to flood riskAs major flooding events around the world show, the impact of flooding on the built environment can cause widespread chaos. These flood events form part of a wider pattern of increasing flood frequency coupled with increased vulnerability of the built environment to flood hazard. Flood risk can unite o

Recent catastrophes, from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the ravaging of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the 2007 floods in Bangladesh, England, and Texas, have made the world very ware of the need for better management of the response to flooding and of the rehabilitation of damaged areas. This book contains papers originally presented at the First International Conference on Flood Recovery Innovation and Response (FRIAR), held in London, UK, which brought together academics, practitioner, and government officials to share information on the state of the art in this field.The conference papers address one of six main themes: Risk management in relation to flood events and climate change; Pre-event planning (both short- and long-term) and business continuity; Management of major events so that coherent and seamless frameworks of support are created; Post damage restoration and recovery; Victims of flooding - including physiological and psychological public health risks; and International and national government policy. This book contains papers originally presented at the First International Conference on Flood Recovery Innovation and Response (FRIAR), held in London, UK. The papers presented at the conference are grouped into the following six main themes. Within the themes, papers cover such topics as: Flood defence methods; Financial and insurance issues; Coping strategies; Adaptive capacity; and Rural vs urban community approaches. The book will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, planners and all others interested in the topic of flooding.

This edited volume was originally published in 2000 and presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary review of issues related to inland flood hazards. It addresses physical controls on flooding, flood processes and effects, and responses to flooding, from the perspective of human, aquatic, and riparian communities. Individual chapter authors are recognized experts in their fields who draw on examples and case studies of inland flood hazards from around the world. This volume is unusual among treatments of flood hazards in that it addresses how the non-occurrence of floods, in association with flow regulation and other human manipulation of river systems, may create hazards for aquatic and riparian communities. This book will be a valuable resource for everyone associated with inland flood hazards: professionals in government and industry, and researchers and graduate students in civil engineering, geography, geology, hydrology, hydraulics, and ecology.

As human population has continued to concentrate in urban areas, the number of people and the value of property affected by disasters, both natural and human-generated, have grown as well. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, and forest fires have all taken their toll so have such anthropogenic disasters as pipeline failures, industrial spills, and terrorist attacks. The contents of this volume consist of papers presented at the fourth in a series of conferences convened to assess the potential risk from various disasters and discuss ways to prevent or mitigate damage. The papers have been contributed by experts on public health, security, and disaster management from academia, industry, and government. Topics covered include Disaster Analysis; Disaster Monitoring and Mitigation; Emergency Preparedness; Risk Mitigation; Risk and Security; Safety and Resilience; Socio-economic Issues; Health Risk; Human Factors; Multi-hazard Risk Assessment; Case Studies.