Author(s): N. Douben; J. Verhagen
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Urban flash floods; Impact assessment; Mitigation strategies; Urban development; Research; Capacity building
Abstract: Losses as a result of urban flash floods are increasing because of human activities and geophysical factors. Large parts of least developed and emerging countries are witnessing rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation, increasing climate variability will likely result in changing precipitation patterns and more extreme weather events, and ongoing deterioration of the natural environment will alter hydrological runoff processes drastically. The direct and indirect impacts of urban flash floods are often devastating due to their short warning time and usually cause a severe backlash on the development of urban areas, the engines of socio-economic progress in least developed and emerging countries. Despite of the suspected draconic influence on regional socio-economic developments, urban flash floods are not systematically documented and little sound scientific data and knowledge exists on the impacts of these disasters. One of the major research and capacity building challenges in the coming decades is to find appropriate triggers and incentives to apply and implement feasible and sustainable urban flash flood mitigation and recovery strategies. Urban planners, water managers and decision makers need to be equipped with guidelines that lead to both sustainable flash flood mitigation as well as poverty alleviation. This paper describes the major causes of urban flash floods and their impacts on, especially poor, communities in emerging and least developed countries. A research agenda and learning programme is elaborated in order to increase the awareness among catchment and urban authorities, to integrate feasible flash flood mitigation strategies, to stimulate sustainable economic development and to attain the Millennium Development Goals by alleviating urban poverty.
Year: 2005