TOWARDS FASTER LONG-TERM RECOVERY AFTER FLOODS: EXAMPLE: 2008 MIDWEST USA AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA  lecture by Walter Hays Uploading date: January 14, 2015 More lectures at Disasters Supercourse - http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/collections/collection52.htm PPT original - http://www.pitt.edu/~super7/52011-53001/52911.ppt URL: http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec52911/index.htm

2015: FLOODS ARE A GLOBAL NATURAL HAZARD SEVERE WINDSTORMS EARTHQUAKES DROUGHTS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS ETC.

WITH 2015’S SPRING FLOODS ONLY WEEKS AWAY, ITS PAST TIME TO SPEED UP THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY PROCESS FOR FLOODS

FLOODS Floods occur somewhere in the world 10,000 times or more each year.

FLOOD-INDUCED LANDSLIDES Many of the global flood occurrences also trigger landslides, mudslides, mudflows, and rock falls.

FLOODS Floods, which can be either slow onset or rapid onset events (i.e., flash floods), occur when a locale can not process the amount of water that it is receiving in a normal manner.

FLOODS occur when water accumulates too rapidly to be processed in the locale from: a) natural events such as rainfall and snow melt, b) storm surge and heavy rain from hurricanes and typhoons, and c) tsunami waves

FLOODS CAUSES OF RISK LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN INUNDATION INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER FLOODS WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS) CASE HISTORIES EROSION AND MUDFLOWS CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER

NOTE: INUNDATION BECOMES A POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENT WHEN IT a) TRIGGERS LANDSLIDES, b) INTERACTS WITH A COMMUNITY’S BUILDINGS, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, CROPS, AND c) CREATES A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: MIDWESTERN USA and ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER JUNE-JULY 2008

MIDWEST AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA; JUNE 12

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA; JUNE 13

MIDWEST FLOODS: CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, JUNE 17th

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: IOWA CORNFIELDS; JUNE 19

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: FOLEY, MO; JUNE 19

MIDWEST FLOODS RECEDE AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS BEGIN: JUNE 18th

MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS: QUINCY, ILLINOIS; JUNE 18

MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS: JUNE 19

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: ST LOUIS, MO; JUNE 20th .

THE GREAT FLOODs OF 2008: WINFIELD, MO; JUNE 29

THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2008 After weeks of flooding through Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Wisconsin, the region faced billions of dollars in losses, threats of disease, and a long cleanup. The total direct and indirect losses may never be known.

THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES 1) dozens of flooded towns and cities, 2) inundated homes and businesses, 3) lost crops and productivity of farm land, 4) loss of function of roads.

THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES 5) loss of function of bridges, 6) overwhelmed utilities, 7) thirty-eight thousand evacuees, 8) regional business interruption, 9) loss of tourism,

THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES 10) long-term clean-up (removal of debris, sewage, garbage, 10-million sandbags) 11) drying out of houses and businesses and their contents, 12) rebuilding of houses and levees.

THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES 13) disposal of damaged home systems (e.g., refrigerators), 14) restoration of water quality in wells and municipal water systems 15) restoration of schools and universities.

THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES 16) restoration of millions of acres of prime farm land. 17) rebuilding of cities such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa (estimates reach at least $1 billion).

WATER RELATED DISEASES POLLUTION DEAD ZONES JUNE - JULY 2008 WILL THE FLOODS IN THE MIDWEST AND ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER CAUSE OTHER DISASTERS? WATER RELATED DISEASES POLLUTION DEAD ZONES JUNE - JULY 2008

THREAT OF E-COLI AND TETNUS The flood waters seeped into countless wells, affecting drinking water for thousands of homes and businesses across the region. Hazardous materials were also released into the flood waters.

MOULD: THE HAZARD AT HOME AFTER WATERS RECEDE Mold, which begins growing within 24 hours, was a threat for causing severe allergic reactions and potentially fatal respiratory seizures.

THREAT OF POLLUTION Flood waters loaded with of tons of fertilizer and farm debris runoff were headed down the Mississippi River. This deluge could dramatically increase soil and water pollution along the entire Mississippi.

THREAT OF A WIDER DEAD ZONE A dead zone, which already exists in the Gulf of Mexico, is starved for oxygen and can not support aquatic life.

ENLARGED DEAD ZONE IN GULF OF MEXICO

THE GREAT MIDWEST FLOODS OF 2008 REJUVENATED THE BUYOUT STRATEGY IN FIVE STATES JULY 17, 2008

THE FLOODPLAIN BUYOUT IS A RISK REDUCTION STRATEGY THAT BREAKS THE LONG-TERM FLOOD DISASTER CYCLE

1993 BUYOUTS AFTER THE GREAT MIDWEST FLOOD In 1993, 12,000 properties in the floodplain were bought and another 500 structures were either relocated out of the floodplain, or elevated.

BUYOUTS OFFERED IN FIVE STATES Buyouts were offered in September 2008 to those in the floodplains of five mid-western states: Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri Indiana, and Illinois that experienced flooding.