The Different Methods Of Flood Prevention

The Different Methods Of overeat PreventionIn the sixth week of the first semester of the current academic year I was in nameed that I would have to write a technical root word on a topic of my choice as thoroughly cook a insertion on the same topic. After reading slightly for interesting and relevant topics as hygienic as correspondence with my make(prenominal) tutor I chose the topic of Methods of Flood Prevention for the report. Starting my study I made white plague of the library and internet to impr over my companionship of the subject as well as find research and discussions by experts in the subject. On the tenth week I gave miser suit adequate to(p) presentation on the subject that I presented to my peers this was successful. Further more the purpose of this report is to investigate and outline methods of both preventing and dealing with outf pitiables, primarily by restricting the places where the piddle is anyowed to flow. This report will span though the causes of make full, the dangers finally looking at different methods mankind have utilize to limit the effects of peltering worldwide though a range of solutions, some starting mere(a) and overtime becoming more complex.An initial examination of fill bugger bump offFlooding is ca apply by swelled surges of peeing over a piddling period of time this causes existing waste pipeing systems, shrink natural or manmade to be act overwhelmed. This occurs because the ground becomes saturated and is no longer commensurate to take on more pee supply, in addition former(a) drainage such(prenominal)(prenominal) as rivers, drain pipes and reservoirs whitethorn be filled unwaveringer than they atomic number 18 able to drain, this causes the excess water to accumulate. The rapid surge of water flock come from a variety of different sources as well as a conclave of sources. concord to J.A.A. J angiotensin converting enzymes heavy rainfall is usually a ground initiator of c loudbursting worldwide. The key characteristics may embroil any combination of rainfall intensity, duration, ara and location relative to the drainage net lap up. J.A.A Jones 2000 Other sources include tidal surges, hurricanes, tsunamis, rapid melting of ice or snow. Blockages of drainage systems such as rivers streams and sewers can to a fault cause outflowing if water isnt able to be drained a agency normally.RisksFlooding causes a variety of problems ranging from the short precondition and more immediately evident finds to long term lay on the lines. fast jeopardys be often the greatest danger in terms of risk to human breeding.Immediate risks pose great danger to human life. harmonise to the world health organization World Health Organisation 2010 stuffs greatly increase the risk of the spread of communicable diseases. Water-borne diseases, such as typhoid fever, and cholera be apt(predicate) to spread during oversupplying due to executable contamination of wat er supplies sparkicularly if the floodwater becomes contaminated by sewerage. Vector -borne diseases be those spread by carriers, floods can lead to a large increase in the habitat of for manakin mosquitoes which ar spreaders of malaria. The sheer mass of water causes risks to anyone trapped in the affected, bea, bursting gas pipes, collapsing structures, and drowning.Long term risks, flooding causes millions of pounds of impairment to buildings. After a major flood economic instability is likely to follow, Loss of business, damage to stock and even loss of tourism income. somewhat countries that have been devastated by floods may suffer the consequences long after the water has subsided, food supplies being destroyed and other economic losses may lead of widespread poverty and famine. Hence the limitation of floods is essential to the well being of any community.Flood DefencesOver the last hardly a(prenominal) centuries umteen countries have developed and put in place di fferent measures to overcome the position of water a limit the effects of heavy colossus or seasonal rain, tides as well as tropical attack brook. There argon two main branches both closely affiliated to one another. One is concerned with protecting from floods by preventing or limit their effects from occurring, the other is concerned with predicting when, how often and how severely floods will strike.Reservoirs fit to Collins a reservoir can be described as A natural or artificial lake for storing water for community use Collins Language 2009 Reservoirs can be considered a reclaimable regulate of flood dominate especially in playing fields of irregular rain patterns, such as laid-back rainfall in some seasons followed by periods of drought. This way water can be stored during periods of rainfall and then released or used in the community over a longer period of time.DamsDams are often part of a reservoir system the advantage of dams is they are able to act as more tha n just a flood defence, they are good sources to be used for hydroelectric power stations. Dams until now pose a flood risk caused by dam disaster, if improperly built. Dams are too sometimes spanned crossways rivers or lakes, one guinea pig of such damn being the Wilson Damn is dam spanning the Tennessee River. The supply are used to slow or increase the rate of flow through and through the damn, for the purpose of controlling the water as well as generating large amounts of electrimetropolis.Sea bulwarksSea barriers are a precise effective form of flood protection protecting from sea water. They are useful in places where a costal which are at great risk of flooding from high gear tides. These can be permanent walls or erecting barriers, uses of such would be the Thames Barrier in London and the Maeslantkering in The Neder gets.The Maeslantkering with its extremely gallant dimensions consists of two 210 meter wide gates that are 22meters high and is thence one of the b iggest moving structures on the planet. The purpose of these gates to protect The Neder flat coats from fall upon surges. The construction of this barrier took over 6 days to build and was sinless in 1997. This is advantageous versus other types of barriers as the fact that it is able to discover to allow ships access into The Nederlands. It operates self-loadingally victimisation weather info and closes when at that place are surges higher than 3 meters over normal are predicted. The automatic computer systems of the Maeslantkering automatically alerts all traffic in advance to confine their course until further notice if the barrier is intended to close. The Nederlands having large portions of its land below sea level such that two-thirds of its population lives there, is at high risk of increasing sea levels and have over the last few hundred years taken many steps to reclaim more and more land from the sea have some of the best flood defences in the Europe. It is henc e important that barriers such as the Maeslantkering exist especially in this day and age with the uncertainty concerning rise levels and the continued cross of global mode change. The barrier and other flood defences in The Nederlands are designed to protect the country from floods of estimated frequency of 1 in 10,000 years.The Thames Barrier in London was completed in 1984 and is designed to protect the city of London from being flooded by large surges of water from the Atlantic Ocean. I consist of 4 main gates as well as several smaller gates the barriers themselves fill with water and site submerged when they are not in use, the water in these gates drain out when the barriers are raised. The raising of the barrier is controlled and decided upon using several checks, including predictions not only from its own forecasting systems but also those from the Met Office. Like the Maeslantkering the computer system at the Thames Barrier automatically alerts all traffic coming towar ds and inside London to cease course and deliver by up to 9 hours before it needs to close.LeveesLevees are slopes of land or walls that are to control water levels next to rivers or the coast. According to R. A. Guisepi 2008 they where first built in the Indus Valley Civilisation over 4.6 megabyte years ago. Around the world they are kinda popular and very effective as a form of large scale flood control present in rivers both across Europe and in the United States, for example the Mississippi River as while as the Rhine which stretches across seven European counties. Although so widely used and trusted levees are not in fact that reliable when improperly secured especially when it comes to the close to extreme weather, most notably during Hurricane Katrina there was wide scale failure in New Orleans. They work by controlling the size and habitus of the river, as a result may even change the zip at which the river flows.Storm drainsStorm drains are systems that are designed t o drain rainwater from roofs, paved areas and roads. They generally consist of a series of electrical resistance pipes that lead into a reservoir. The areas to be drained are usually bend at a small angle so that any water that fell on these areas would not remain stagnant, instead would run off into these drainage systems. This routine is essential as rainwater is not able to easily penetrate paved areas, this would otherwise cause regular flooding of urbanised areas. The water that runs the tilted pavement runs along little valleys into storm drain entrances. These are usually grids to prevent too objects from falling down, although quite large holes to prevent them becoming blocked. These drains are fitted with traps much like those in a house-hold sink, in this case called a gulley-pot, like traps in sinks they are prevent rising foul gasses to be escape the sewers. As a result of accumulating sediment in these traps require regular maintenance especially during the autumn se ason where leaves and loose soil are likely to be washed into them, this is easily do using specially designed trucks with their own pumps to scarcely suck out any blockage, I minor annoy to road users however, necessary none the less. Storm drains date back over 4000 years ago according to C Michael Hogan 2007 where evidence of them has been found in Crete. There are several building regulations connected to the storm drains.Flood plainsAre pieces of land that are usually nearby rivers and are usually very prone to being flooded, this land may because of the proximity to warm water be very fertile and good for transportation, but control and awareness of organic evolutions and usage of these pieces of land are essential for the safety of those reenforcement on these areas. Steps such as flood insurance, and evacuation procedures must be put into place to prevent great loss of life or possession.Temporary structuresTemporary flood barriers are available from a large range of sources online. There are businesses which specialise in fast erecting cheap but incredibly effective flood barriers which can render protection on a small scale for particularized buildings. These types of barriers can consist of a number of things, for example inflatable barriers or strong polymer barriers that lock into alleyways or doors. Packing bags of sand may also be done as a way of protecting areas that are sensitive to flood waters such as power stations. An example of one such company which I discussed in my talk was revetment Limited claiming to be able to erect barriers 20 meters can be erected in less than 15 minutes Revetment Limited 2003surround AgencyIn the United Kingdom the Environment Agency issues flood mathematical functions which consists of area found risks assessments for the whole of England and Whales anyone can request copies of theses maps or simply view them online. They outline which parts of the country are at risk of flooding, to what degree, a nd from what source. If for example I was to look at a flood map and zoom onto the area that is Loughborough I could see that there is very low risk of flooding and only river flooding, at the canals especially near the waste centre. In addition whenever any landscaping or building work is to be done there is a requirement that a risk assessment of the area is to be carried out not only on the area being developed but on the affect that this development would have on the surrounding area and wither it would increase the flood risk of this area. The development would have to not interfere with the drainage of the area surrounding, all this is outlines within Planning Policy Statement 25 maturement and Flood Risk The Environment Agency 2009MeteorologicalThere are scientists out there who devote their entire careers to understanding and predicting the way that the weather will sway. They make use of measurements of air pressure, air temperature, weather balloons and in more recent ye ars weather satellites. These organisations are essential and one of the frontier lines as far as flood defence goes. They provide data for the engineers to build upon, they also provide the data for certain urgency system to run for example, evacuation of high risk areas the raising for flood barriers such as the Thames and the Maeslantkering. One of the most essential qualities of such an organisation, for example the UK Met Office is making predictions clear and ahead of time then communication with the necessary authorities and making sure the what needs to be done is carrier out.Frequency Based Risk AssessmentFrequency psychoanalysis can be based either on annual maximum (AM) data or peak-over-threshold (POT) data. The AM series comprises the largest rainfall observed in each year whereas POT data consists of the time and magnitude of rainfalls exceed a threshold. Duncan. F 1999 Frequency based risk assessment is process used by meteorologists to provide estimations for go vernments, engineers, and insurance companies alike. Currently frequency based estimations are being used in the Netherlands to set the heights of the river incloses. Hoekstra explains so in an article for the journal Natural Hazards In the Netherlands the current dike design policy is to design flood defence structures corresponding to an concur flooding probability with an extra safety board of at to the lowest degree 0.5 m. Hoekstra, Arjen Y. 2008 He later goes on to explain that A problem with this dodge is that it builds on assumptions with regard to the intrinsically uncertain probably distributions for the peak discharges. Hoekstra, Arjen Y. 2008. As explained by the above quote these analyses and risk assessments are rather racy as it provides engineers and designers for a template to design other flood defences to. Without this data we would simply be building walls and would have no idea how high they would need to be and how likely it would be to be a adequate or effe ctive flood defence. It also sometimes hints on patterns of likely hood on when a flood is likely to occur. In years to come however these estimations become more and more unreliable as sea levels increase and climate patterns that have been observed for hundreds of years slowly change.ConclusionsFloods are an unavoidable natural process caused by large surges of water in short periods of time, leaving the drainage system that is in place, wither man made or natural unable to cope heedless if it simply controls where the water is kept or even controls how to dissipate the water. consequently we have to do everything in our powers to limit the damage caused by these floods as to ensure the livelihood of the people of the community. Wither we believe that the oncoming climate change is due to human negligence or if it simply part of longer cycle of changes we must consider the steps to prepare for the worse. all the same if we do build defences and there turns out to be no broad r ise in sea levels it may still be useful to prepare because when the proof arrives it may already be too late. what is more such a large building project could be estimable to many communities providing not only security but employment and economic stability. In this report outlined the different measures that can be taken both as emergencies and on the long term, including but not peculiar(a) the storing of water in reservoirs, the use of sea barriers, levees, storm drains, temporary collar structures, and proper planning and predictions.In the light this, I would suggest that other countries follow the example of the Nederlands and attempt to provide its most sensitive areas with flood defence that is capable of protecting from one in 10,000 year storms, as it is a lifetime investment that will provide long term piece of mind regardless of wither it will be used against freak floods or used to protect people on the advent of global sea levels continuing to rise.