The Human Impact of Floods: a Historical Review of Events 1980-2009 and Systematic Literature Review
APRIL 16, 2013 · REVIEW
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AUTHORS
Shannon Doocy
Amy Daniels
Sarah Murray
Thomas D. Kirsch
ABSTRACT
Background.
Floods are the most common natural disaster and the leading cause of natural disaster fatalities worldwide. Risk of catastrophic losses due to flooding is significant given deforestation and the increasing proximity of large populations to coastal areas, river basins and lakeshores. The objectives of this review were to describe the impact of flood events on human populations in terms of mortality, injury, and displacement and, to the extent possible, identify risk factors associated with these outcomes. This is one of five reviews on the human impact of natural disasters
Methods.
Data on the impact of floods were compiled using two methods, a historical review of flood events from 1980 to 2009 from multiple databases and a systematic literature review of publications ending in October 2012. Analysis included descriptive statistics, bivariate tests for associations and multinomial logistic regression of flood characteristics and mortality using Stata 11.0.
Findings.
There were 539,811 deaths (range: 510,941 to 568,680), 361,974 injuries and 2,821,895,005 people affected by floods between 1980 and 2009. Inconsistent reporting suggests this is an underestimate, particularly in terms of the injured and affected populations. The primary cause of flood-related mortality is drowning; in developed countries being in a motor-vehicle and male gender are associated with increased mortality, whereas female gender may be linked to higher mortality in low-income countries.
Conclusions.
Expanded monitoring of floods, improved mitigation measures, and effective communication with civil authorities and vulnerable populations has the potential to reduce loss of life in future flood events.
FUNDING STATEMENT
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation’s Human and Social Dynamics Program (grant #0624106). The funding body played no role in the design, writing or decision to publish this manuscript.
INTRODUCTION
Floods are the leading cause of natural disaster deaths worldwide and were responsible for 6.8 million deaths in the 20th century. Asia is the most flood-affected region, accounting for nearly 50% of flood-related fatalities in the last quarter of the 20th century 1,2,3 . The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) defines a flood as “a significant rise of water level in a stream, lake, reservoir or coastal region” 4. More colloquially, flooding is the “presence of water in areas that are usually dry” 1. The events and factors that precipitate flood events are diverse, multifaceted, and interrelated. Weather factors include heavy or sustained precipitation, snowmelts, or storm surges from cyclones whereas important human factors include structural failures of dams and levies, alteration of absorptive land cover with impervious surfaces and inadequate drainage systems. Geographic regions such as coastal areas, river basins and lakeshores are particularly at risk from storms or cyclones that generate high winds and storm surge 5. Environmental/physical land features including soil type, the presence of vegetation, and other drainage basin characteristics also influence flood outcomes 6. Floods transpire on varying timelines, ranging from flash floods with little warning to those that evolve over days or weeks (riverine). Flash floods, characterized by high-velocity flows and short warning times have the highest average mortality rates per event and are responsible for the majority of flood deaths in developed countries 1,3,7. In contrast, riverine floods which are caused by gradual accumulation of heavy rainfall are less likely to cause mortality because of sufficient time for warning and evacuation. Occasionally floods are associated with secondary hazards such as mudslides in mountainous areas.
The Effects Of Flood Damage On Everyday Life
Flood is usually an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land and the inflow of tide onto land. Floods are the most frequent and costly natural hazards, causing almost 90 percent of all the damage related to natural disasters. Floods usually cause large-scale loss of human life and wide spread damage to properties. This damage is known as flood damage. Unimaginable damage will be caused to agriculture, thereby affecting the United State's planning and this will upset its financial budgeting, thereby slowing down the economy as a whole.
The effects of flood damage can be categorized into three types, namely, primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary effects of flood damage include physical damages like damage to bridges, cars, buildings, sewer systems, roadways, and even casualties like people and livestock death due to drowning. The primary effect of floods is due to direct contact with the flood waters. The velocity of water tends to be high in floods and consequently, discharge increases as velocity increases. Because of excess rainfall, the rivers and streams flow with higher velocities wherein they are able to transport larger particles like rocks as suspended load. Such large particles include not only rocks and sediment but during a flood it could also include large objects such as automobiles, houses and bridges. Massive amounts of erosion during the floods can undermine bridge structures, levees, and buildings causing their collapse.
During floods, water will also enter human built structures causing water damage. The flood damage to houses include ruining of furniture, damage to the floors and walls of the house and damage to any other item that comes in contact with the water. Automobiles on the roads get stranded in the floods and they get carried away by the flood waters or water enters into the automobile, which results in damage that cannot be easily repaired. The flood water carries sediment as suspended load. As the flood waters recede, the sediments get deposited and things and structures including the interior of buildings usually get covered with a thick layer of stream-deposited mud. Farmlands affected by floods face a huge loss as they usually result in crop loss. Livestock, pets, and other animals are often carried away by the strong currents of the flood water. Humans who get caught in the high velocity flood waters often get drowned.
Among the secondary effects of flood damage are the disruption of many essential services like gas and electricity. Flood damage also includes the contamination of the drinking water supply, if sewage treatment plants are flooded. This poses a greater threat because this may result in disease and other health hazards, especially in under developed countries. The public transportation systems may also be disrupted during floods, resulting in shortages of food and other supplies.
Tertiary effects of flood damage are generally long-term effects like the location of river channels that may change because of flooding; fewer new channels will develop, leaving the old channels dry. Farmlands with crops get destroyed by the sediment deposition caused by the floods. People may not be able to make it to their workplace due to disruption of services. The floods may also result in destruction of wildlife habitat.
Although floods have some advantages, if we look at it in a broader perspective we can conclude that largely, floods cause havoc to life and property of mankind. By following various preventive measures the effects of flood damage can be reduced to a great extent.
METHODS
Data on the impact of flood events were compiled using two methods, a historical review of flood events and a systematic literature review for publications relating to the human impacts of flooding with a focus on mortality, injury, and displacement.
Historical Event Review
A historical database of significant floods occurring from 1980 to 2009 was created from publicly available data. Multiple data sources were sought to ensure a complete listing of events, to allow for both human and geophysical factors to be included, and to facilitate cross checking of information between sources. The two primary data sources were CRED International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) 4 and the Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) Global Archive of Large Flood Events database 13. For inclusion in the EM-DAT database, one or more of the following criteria must be fulfilled: 10 or more people killed or injured; 100 people affected; declaration of a state of emergency; or a call for international assistance. The DFO database provides a comprehensive list of flood events recorded by news, governmental, instrumental, and remote sensing sources from 1985 to 2009. Inclusion criteria are: significant damage to structures or agriculture, long intervals since the last similar event, or fatalities. Flooding specifically related to hurricane storm surge and tsunamis were excluded.
Event lists from both databases were downloaded in July 2007 and merged to create a single database; the database was updated in August 2009. The EM-DAT and DFO databases included 2,678 and 2,910 events, reported, respectively, between 1980 and 2009. Both EM-DAT and DFO reported the date and location of the event, the affected region and the number dead. In addition, the number affected, homeless, and total affected (sum of injured, homeless, and affected) were reported by EM-DAT. DFO also reported the number displaced, duration of the event (days), and ‘flood magnitude.’ Flood magnitude is a composite score of flood severity developed by DFO that encompasses damage level, recurrence interval, duration of the flood in days and the area affected 13. For flood impacts reported by EM-DAT, zeroes were treated as missing values because they were used as placeholders and their inclusion in the analysis could con
The Human Impact of Floods: a Historical Review of Events 1980-2009 and Systematic Literature Review
APRIL 16, 2013 · REVIEW
Print Article Citation PDF, XML
Email
AUTHORS
Shannon Doocy
Amy Daniels
Sarah Murray
Thomas D. Kirsch
ABSTRACT
Background.
Floods are the most common natural disaster and the leading cause of natural disaster fatalities worldwide. Risk of catastrophic losses due to flooding is significant given deforestation and the increasing proximity of large populations to coastal areas, river basins and lakeshores. The objectives of this review were to describe the impact of flood events on human populations in terms of mortality, injury, and displacement and, to the extent possible, identify risk factors associated with these outcomes. This is one of five reviews on the human impact of natural disasters
Methods.
Data on the impact of floods were compiled using two methods, a historical review of flood events from 1980 to 2009 from multiple databases and a systematic literature review of publications ending in October 2012. Analysis included descriptive statistics, bivariate tests for associations and multinomial logistic regression of flood characteristics and mortality using Stata 11.0.
Findings.
There were 539,811 deaths (range: 510,941 to 568,680), 361,974 injuries and 2,821,895,005 people affected by floods between 1980 and 2009. Inconsistent reporting suggests this is an underestimate, particularly in terms of the injured and affected populations. The primary cause of flood-related mortality is drowning; in developed countries being in a motor-vehicle and male gender are associated with increased mortality, whereas female gender may be linked to higher mortality in low-income countries.
Conclusions.
Expanded monitoring of floods, improved mitigation measures, and effective communication with civil authorities and vulnerable populations has the potential to reduce loss of life in future flood events.
FUNDING STATEMENT
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation’s Human and Social Dynamics Program (grant #0624106). The funding body played no role in the design, writing or decision to publish this manuscript.
INTRODUCTION
Floods are the leading cause of natural disaster deaths worldwide and were responsible for 6.8 million deaths in the 20th century. Asia is the most flood-affected region, accounting for nearly 50% of flood-related fatalities in the last quarter of the 20th century 1,2,3 . The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) defines a flood as “a significant rise of water level in a stream, lake, reservoir or coastal region” 4. More colloquially, flooding is the “presence of water in areas that are usually dry” 1. The events and factors that precipitate flood events are diverse, multifaceted, and interrelated. Weather factors include heavy or sustained precipitation, snowmelts, or storm surges from cyclones whereas important human factors include structural failures of dams and levies, alteration of absorptive land cover with impervious surfaces and inadequate drainage systems. Geographic regions such as coastal areas, river basins and lakeshores are particularly at risk from storms or cyclones that generate high winds and storm surge 5. Environmental/physical land features including soil type, the presence of vegetation, and other drainage basin characteristics also influence flood outcomes 6. Floods transpire on varying timelines, ranging from flash floods with little warning to those that evolve over days or weeks (riverine). Flash floods, characterized by high-velocity flows and short warning times have the highest average mortality rates per event and are responsible for the majority of flood deaths in developed countries 1,3,7. In contrast, riverine floods which are caused by gradual accumulation of heavy rainfall are less likely to cause mortality because of sufficient time for warning and evacuation. Occasionally floods are associated with secondary hazards such as mudslides in mountainous areas.
The Effects Of Flood Damage On Everyday Life
Flood is usually an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land and the inflow of tide onto land. Floods are the most frequent and costly natural hazards, causing almost 90 percent of all the damage related to natural disasters. Floods usually cause large-scale loss of human life and wide spread damage to properties. This damage is known as flood damage. Unimaginable damage will be caused to agriculture, thereby affecting the United State's planning and this will upset its financial budgeting, thereby slowing down the economy as a whole.
The effects of flood damage can be categorized into three types, namely, primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary effects of flood damage include physical damages like damage to bridges, cars, buildings, sewer systems, roadways, and even casualties like people and livestock death due to drowning. The primary effect of floods is due to direct contact with the flood waters. The velocity of water tends to be high in floods and consequently, discharge increases as velocity increases. Because of excess rainfall, the rivers and streams flow with higher velocities wherein they are able to transport larger particles like rocks as suspended load. Such large particles include not only rocks and sediment but during a flood it could also include large objects such as automobiles, houses and bridges. Massive amounts of erosion during the floods can undermine bridge structures, levees, and buildings causing their collapse.
During floods, water will also enter human built structures causing water damage. The flood damage to houses include ruining of furniture, damage to the floors and walls of the house and damage to any other item that comes in contact with the water. Automobiles on the roads get stranded in the floods and they get carried away by the flood waters or water enters into the automobile, which results in damage that cannot be easily repaired. The flood water carries sediment as suspended load. As the flood waters recede, the sediments get deposited and things and structures including the interior of buildings usually get covered with a thick layer of stream-deposited mud. Farmlands affected by floods face a huge loss as they usually result in crop loss. Livestock, pets, and other animals are often carried away by the strong currents of the flood water. Humans who get caught in the high velocity flood waters often get drowned.
Among the secondary effects of flood damage are the disruption of many essential services like gas and electricity. Flood damage also includes the contamination of the drinking water supply, if sewage treatment plants are flooded. This poses a greater threat because this may result in disease and other health hazards, especially in under developed countries. The public transportation systems may also be disrupted during floods, resulting in shortages of food and other supplies.
Tertiary effects of flood damage are generally long-term effects like the location of river channels that may change because of flooding; fewer new channels will develop, leaving the old channels dry. Farmlands with crops get destroyed by the sediment deposition caused by the floods. People may not be able to make it to their workplace due to disruption of services. The floods may also result in destruction of wildlife habitat.
Although floods have some advantages, if we look at it in a broader perspective we can conclude that largely, floods cause havoc to life and property of mankind. By following various preventive measures the effects of flood damage can be reduced to a great extent.
METHODS
Data on the impact of flood events were compiled using two methods, a historical review of flood events and a systematic literature review for publications relating to the human impacts of flooding with a focus on mortality, injury, and displacement.
Historical Event Review
A historical database of significant floods occurring from 1980 to 2009 was created from publicly available data. Multiple data sources were sought to ensure a complete listing of events, to allow for both human and geophysical factors to be included, and to facilitate cross checking of information between sources. The two primary data sources were CRED International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) 4 and the Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) Global Archive of Large Flood Events database 13. For inclusion in the EM-DAT database, one or more of the following criteria must be fulfilled: 10 or more people killed or injured; 100 people affected; declaration of a state of emergency; or a call for international assistance. The DFO database provides a comprehensive list of flood events recorded by news, governmental, instrumental, and remote sensing sources from 1985 to 2009. Inclusion criteria are: significant damage to structures or agriculture, long intervals since the last similar event, or fatalities. Flooding specifically related to hurricane storm surge and tsunamis were excluded.
Event lists from both databases were downloaded in July 2007 and merged to create a single database; the database was updated in August 2009. The EM-DAT and DFO databases included 2,678 and 2,910 events, reported, respectively, between 1980 and 2009. Both EM-DAT and DFO reported the date and location of the event, the affected region and the number dead. In addition, the number affected, homeless, and total affected (sum of injured, homeless, and affected) were reported by EM-DAT. DFO also reported the number displaced, duration of the event (days), and ‘flood magnitude.’ Flood magnitude is a composite score of flood severity developed by DFO that encompasses damage level, recurrence interval, duration of the flood in days and the area affected 13. For flood impacts reported by EM-DAT, zeroes were treated as missing values because they were used as placeholders and their inclusion in the analysis could con
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