Floods, are most likely going to be a part of life for many parts of the world. Thus I think its concentrate on developing methods to improve flood resilience, with emphasis on coping capacities of both people and infrastructure. This is an important aspect of flood risk management.

in my research study, I am working on the role of different technologies in disaster management cycle (mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery). I am not focusing on a particular disaster, however, some of the proposed technologies or scenarios may be of interest to you.

In developing countries issues are how adaptive capacities can be created. Here scales play an important role, how huge are floods in extension, here issues in South Asia are distinctively different to Pacific Island countries like Fiji. In both regions floods are frequently occurring hazards, but the face is rather distinct.

An increasing research topic is also of how social capital can be activated to play important functions in early warning, disaster relief and rescue and rehabilitation. Officially response is often far less instantly and much risk reduction could come from civil society and also social networks in exposed locations. Much could be done to strengthen such networks by providing training and tools.

Finally issues around resettlement will take a more important role in coastal locations that are exposed to see level rise and coastal flooding. Here in particular countries are most affected that consist only of low lying islands, such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

A huge array of issues need to be considered from political, economic, social and cultural dimensions, before good concepts are in place that help exposed population effectively and reduce hardship for those who get displaced without having contributed much to the reasons that cause their displacement.

Hi Javed, this consortium produced several interesting outputs related to flood risk management, it may be interesting to you too: http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/engineering/research/cws/research/flood-risk/research-consortium.html

1. How to avoid reliance on structural defences http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4762.2011.01074.x/abstract and (2) How to reduce vulnerability irrespective of the hazard http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-318X.2010.01080.x/abstract

Hello Javed,

improving flood resilience is the key factor. This can be achieved with nature-based solutions that

provide cost-effective flood protection (among other things) and at the same time create multiple benefits to the environment and local communities. Measures to implement nature based flood protection should be more researched and emphasized.

Floods affect people, who are shaped by uneven geographies of caste, class, ethnicity, gender and age, making some people more vulnerable to flooding than others, resulting in uneven flood impacts. We need to better

understand the differences in the social landscape, so that the most vulnerable are protected and supported. so we should concentrate on following points in flood risk management

• Observations in the field, corroborated by satellite imagery, show that river channels are highly mobile and constantly evolve through each monsoon season. Construction of irrigation canals, embankments, and other engineering structures will alter the rate of channel migration, natural sediment dispersal across the wider floodplain, and sediment dynamics within the river channel; these effects should be integrated into environmental impact assessments prior to construction.
• Implications of these new scientific approaches need acceptance by local communities and government organisations, if they are to have an impact. Effective flood risk management must integrate both scientific and local knowledge, rather than only focusing on engineering measures, such as embankments, to mitigate flooding and river-related hazards.
• Communities living within the river basin have indigenous vernacular strategies for coping with floods.It is important to be sensitive to the multiple ways that local communities cope with flooding, drawing on oral knowledge and local practices. Local strategies for building are evolving, as the availability of new construction materials increases. It is apparent there are some skill shortages in both vernacular and contemporary building in rural housing.

Hi Javed,

a number of useful points have already been raised. True, floods differ substantially in their nature, and thus how we mitigate the risk or deal with actual floods is crucial - a relatively short and minor flood can wreak havoc in the US or in Europe in areas that are not properly prepared (recall the subway flooding in New York following Sandy), while people in Bangladesh readily cope with month-long flooding. I agree that things like proper flood modelling/hazard assessment and early warning are very important, though not without being properly coupled with education and appropriate mitigation.

Regarding education: yes, activating social capital, strengthening communities etc. is important. However, often it's simple things like clogged drainage channels that intensify flooding - as long as people don[t understand the role they themselves play, but also what they can do to mitigate floods (i.e. keep those channels clean and open, avoid plastic, etc.), things won't change. The culture and awareness of what causes floods must be raised. In addition I agree that nature-based solutions are needed. I just returned from Japan, where I visited the rebuilding at the Tohoku coast after the 2011 EQ/tsunami - concrete everywhere! Every bay is being blocked up by a sea wall, often kilometers long and >10m high. Ugly, and not actually enough to stop tsunamis, only to slow them down. Where possible resettling people (there are successful examples from Austria where entire communities flooded out have been resettled elsewhere), and using natural protections such as mangroves, are preferable.

Best, Norman

Climate change, especially increasingly heavy rains, causes peak water levels in the Dutch rivers. We enlarge the river basin, even by moving dikes outwards. So include he effects of climate change on the peak water levels to be prepared for the future.

Check

Room for the River (Netherlands)

As per my opinion, in this changing world flood risk assessment should be concentrated. In this several things are come-

1. Flood risk mapping

2. Flood risk index

3. Flood risk evaluation

4. Flood risk mitigation

Here, you can use GIS and so many software and make effective work.

Beside what is said in the earlier answers, try to do watershed management tools both structural and non-structural flood mitigation measures.

The causes of flooding, relative environmental impacts, root causes and corrective measures are likely to vary among nations. However, it is important to identify the unique characteristics of the area of subject as they relate to flooding. With this, potent flood risk management actions could be taken.

Floodplain land use planning is the necessity as people encroach the river bank slopes knowingly that they will suffer frequently from flooding i.e. they are ready to bear the loss. Thus flood hazard mapping is the first step to initiate any management programme to cope with this fluvial hazard.

With reference to flood risk management, we must concentrate on historical events of floods, land use planning policies.

One should also focus on preparing populations at risk so they can act in the most appropriate way in case of incidents. Also institutions in risk zones should optimize their disaster plans to cope when floods strike.