Floods are among Earth's most common–and most destructive–natural hazards.

A flood occurs when water overflows or inundates land that's normally dry. This can happen in a multitude of ways. Most common is when rivers or streams overflow their banks. Excessive rain, a ruptured dam or levee, rapid ice melting in the mountains, or even an unfortunately placed beaver dam can overwhelm a river and send it spreading over the adjacent land, called a floodplain. Coastal flooding occurs when a large storm or tsunami causes the sea to surge inland.

Most floods take hours or even days to develop, giving residents ample time to prepare or evacuate. Others generate quickly and with little warning. These flash floods can be extremely dangerous, instantly turning a babbling brook into a thundering wall of water and sweeping everything in its path downstream.

Disaster experts classify floods according to their likelihood of occurring in a given time period. A hundred-year flood, for example, is an extremely large, destructive event that would theoretically be expected to happen only once every century. But this is a theoretical number. In reality, this classification means there is a one-percent chance that such a flood could happen in anygiven year. Over recent decades, possibly due to global climate change, hundred-year floods have been occurring worldwide with frightening regularity.

Some of the tips for future to save up to some extent from flooding that can be implemented by the government to save people and the destruction are:

1.  Introduce better flood warning systems & Modify homes and businesses to help them withstand floods

2. Construct buildings above flood levels & Tackle climate change

3. Increase spending on flood defences & Protect wetlands and introduce plant trees strategically

4. Restore rivers to their natural courses & Introduce water storage areas

5. Improve soil conditions & Put up more flood barriers

Very nice query@Dickson Adom

Hi Mr Adom i would like write here as 10 measures that must be taken to prevent more flooding in the future among Flood Affected Countries:

1. Introduce better flood warning systems : The Government must "improve our flood warning systems" giving people more time to take action during flooding potentially saving lives. Advance warning and pre-planning can significantly reduce the impact from flooding.

2. Modify homes and businesses to help them withstand floods: The focus should be on “flood resilience” rather than defence schemes. Experts advised concreting floors and replacing materials such as MDF and plasterboard with more robust alternatives. Expert suggested waterproofing homes and businesses and moving electric sockets higher up the walls to increase resilience.

3. Construct buildings above flood levels: Affected Countries should construct all new buildings one metre from the ground to prevent flood damage Civil Engineers has suggested. Professor David Balmforth, who specialises in flood risk management said conventional defences had to be supplemented with more innovative methods to lower the risk of future disasters.

4. Tackle climate change: Climate change has contributed to a rise in extreme weather events, scientists believe. Earlier this month the leader of the most Countries welcomed the landmark Paris Agreement, whereby governments from 195 countries pledged to “pursue efforts” to limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. “It is now crucial that world leaders deliver on the promise of Paris,”.

5. Increase spending on flood defenses: Spending on flood defences should be increased to Prevent from Flooding in the future.

6. Protect wetlands and introduce plant trees strategically: The creation of more wetlands which can act as sponges soaking up moisture and wooded areas can slow down waters when rivers overflow. These areas are often destroyed to make room for agriculture and development the WWF said. Halting deforestation and wetland drainage reforesting upstream areas and restoring damaged wetlands could significantly reduce the impact of climate change on flooding, according to the conservation charity.

7. Restore rivers to their natural courses: Many river channels have been historically straightened to improve navigability. Remeandering straightened rivers by introducing their bends once more increases their length and can delay the flood flow and reduce the impact of the flooding downstream.

8. Introduce water storage areas: I would provide an Example of Cumbria United Kingdom (Following the severe flooding of 2009 a £5.6 million flood alleviation scheme was established in Thacka Beck on the outskirts of Penrith, Cumbria. More than 675 metres of culverts underneath the streets of Penrith were replaced and a 76,000m³ flood storage reservoir the equivalent of 30 Olympic sized swimming pools was constructed upstream to hold back flood water. The risk of flooding from the beck was reduced from a 20 per cent chance in any given year to a one per cent chance, according to Cumbria Wildlife Trust.)

9. Improve soil conditions: Inappropriate soil management machinery and animal hooves can cause soil to become compacted so that instead of absorbing moisture holding it and slowly letting it go water runs off it immediately. Well drained soil can absorb huge quantities of rainwater preventing it from running into rivers.

10. Put up more flood barriers: The Environment Agency uses a range of temporary or “demountable” defenses in at risk areas. These can be removed completely when waters recede. Temporary barriers can also be added to permanent flood defenses such as raised embankments increasing the level of protection. “As the threat and frequency of flood risk increases, the use of passive flood defence has to be the only realistic long term solution,”

I have written some suggestions which might help to Prevent Flooding in the Future.

Regards.

There is no substitute to removing the hurdles to the flow, however as people and livelihood is connected to be destabilised during the period of rehabilitation, it is better to.....

Flood is a natural disaster which not only causes damage to life and property, but also leads to disruption of services. Please have a look at these useful RG links pertaining to flood control.

Research Flood Risk Reduction and Management

Article Flood Hazard Management in England and Wales: From Land Drai...

Article FLOOD MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT USING REMOTE SENSING

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257724199_Urban_flood_disaster_management

Article The Malaysian flood hazard management program

Article A Review of Flood Control Policy in Bihar (India)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229899427_Sustainable_flood_risk_management_strategies_to_reduce_rural_communities%27_vulnerability_to_flooding_in_Mozambique

Article Flood control in an urban drainage system using a linear controller

https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_can_we_prevent_flooding_in_a_low_lying_urban_city

Great answers and interventions from colleagues, interference and interference in the work of nature Since ages, civilizations have changed, natural disasters are faster than they can be avoided. Human beings will be unable to predict and reduce most disasters. In most cases they can provide shelters and emergency assistance but are ineffective.

Silt minimizes the water carrying capacity of a river. In summers, rivers like the Ganges seem to be disappearing and in rains, it seems like seas.

We disobey natural systems to flow water in the rivers. Our knowledge system is not successful to provide a system where non-voiced rivers could get its life.

Water harvesting systems, conserving natural habitats at the origins of the rivers, demolishing unwanted constructions within the rivers, removing silts, are some measures minimizing the occurrences of floods.

But love to rivers and water system is essential where our knowledge system could change the political and social system to make our culture more viable.

If it goes up it must come down. The more evaporation the more precipitation.

Some temporary measures include dredging a river. I proposed this to my city, but they turned it down! They spent a fortune making dikes instead.

Long-term method would be to slow down global warming: Nothing else.

Some measures to cool the planet:

Change roofing material (currently black asphalt ) into white material, or just paint it white. The air will get cooler, then air temperature will drop and evaporation will drop.

Some places have done nothing to change the above. However, I noticed that in Montreal, Canada about 30% of the roofs are white today, used to be black before (probably).

It takes courage and joint effort to combat climate change, it won't happen overnight. In the meantime flooding will get much worse.

I think the people in Kumasi are the example to follow.

Priority #1 in my opinion is slowing down, or preventing water run off!

Restoring wetlands becomes imperative to accomplish this as well as employing in this effort perennial plant species. Beginning to impede any development in sensitive zones such as flood plains is a must action that will save a lot of money and resources in the long run.

According to the risk assessment, a few measures can be taken to deal with the floods. In some areas, areas known as floodplains are equipped to absorb floodwater instead of flooding in residential areas, as well as other steps such as developing separate networks for both sewage and rainwater .

Indeed, the list of preventive measures is very long, but the best measure to reduce the risk of flooding is to reduce the human presence and human activity in those areas, so there must be professional air monitoring stations that tell citizens the time of flooding as soon as possible.

Interesting discussion.

I think the area near to the sea or a river is mostly flooded, if there is a heavy rain or some other natural calamities.

According to me,

One solution can be that the residents very near to the sea level should be move to high elevation during the natural calamities.

Other solution can be that government can build the strong wall around the coastal areas, so that the water do not enter the resident area.

I personally believe unorganised construction, deforestation and poor drain management are some aggressive point which increase the impact of flood in the nearby regions of the rivers.

Leaving a large area on both side of rivers with forestation and avoid illegal construction near to rivers may significantly minimise the mammoth adverse impact of floods.

I am not well aware of technicality but river linkage may also help in reducing the impact of flood in region too.

If you do not take of nature, nature will take care of itself.

In self care by nature, we (humans) will be the real sufferers.

I think the area near to the sea or a river is mostly flooded, if there is a heavy rain or some other natural calamities. New and improper construction and deforestation can also be the reason for the flood.

According to me,One solution can be that the residents very near to the sea level should be move to high elevation during the natural calamities. Other solution can be that government can build the strong wall around the coastal areas, so that the water do not enter the resident area.

Dear respected colleagues,

Thank you so much for your excellent views and suggestions on how to remedy the rampant flooding situation globally. I am heartily grateful. Kind regards

Dear Colleagues,

That is an interesting issue and I enjoyed reading the contributions. To widen the horizon of the discussion, I would like to add some other geoscientific points of view that have been only partly considered yet. (In the following I will not consider flash floods, being another issue.)

My home country, Hungary, being the second most flood-endangered country in Europe (after The Netherlands) is mostly composed of floodplains. As Bruno already mentioned above, wetlands are important part of such hydrological and sedimentary settings, but it was not discussed in details why.

The Pannonian Basin is currently a puzzle of differential uplift/subsidence. This applies to the floodplains, too. In natural conditions, if there is a differential subsidence (i.e. some parts of the basin subside somewhat more rapidly, because of tectonic/geodynamic reasons) the regular (decadal/centennial) large floods deliver and distribute sediment to the whole floodplain, filling the more rapidly subsiding part with somewhat more sediments, so the large floods equilibrate the surface in long term. You will observe this phenomenon in the sedimentary record, creating various sedimentation rates in the basin.

Now, if we build levees to protect our built-up structures or even croplands against floods, what happens in a century or more (we observe that in the Tisza Plain) is that the sediments will not be distributed in the whole basin, just within the levees. In consequence

The important message that we have learned from this (and here I mention my colleague, Gábor Timár (also at RG) who had a lion's share in explaining this phenomenon) that you cannot build higher and higher levees in long term to protect yourself from the increasing flood levels. You have to let more space for the rivers to meander, to deposit their sediments, this will slow down this complex geoscientific process. For that creating wetlands it is a good idea, not only because of the ecological reasons, but also for slowing down the unequilibrated sediment distribution blocked by the levees.

Thank you for your attention, kind regards, Balázs

Very touching and experienced view. Thanks for sharing it Dr. Balazs. I am very grateful.

In a beautiful poem, The Persian poet Saddi has said, " we are all the sons of Adam and Eve , parts of the same body born from the same essence, when one of the parts is in pain, it is inhumane for the other parts to be indifferent". As such, you are absolutely right about the human loss caused by recent natural disasters in different parts of the world. One of the solutions might be stopping our constant meddling in destroying the natural processes . Melting of ice blocks in the arctics, Trumps' anti environmental policies, ignorance of local governments concerning environmental education and planning are some of the factors deteriorating the status quo in much of the world today.

Dear Dickson,

The problem you mention "flooding" is direct response of our actions, you already said: "you reap what you sow" that is true. In my country Peru, we have the same problem, people that throw their garbage in rivers, companies that discharge their effluents to water bodies, people that build their houses close to river banks ......Some progress has been achieved, I will mention two: 1) A group of people that were living in vulnerable places prone to floods were relocated to a safer place 2) Dynamic barriers made of steel meshes of high resistance and durability were installed in ravines to protect people that live in the lower part.

Also stronger environmental laws have to be given, if the law already exist then the fine has to be increased.

Regards

If we have the ability to assist the affected people, we should do our best. If not, at least we should be sympathetic with the people.

Excellent approaches, Dr. Luis. Great comments Prof. Reza, and Dr. Abdullahi. You have really fueled the discussion with very rich comments Thank you immensely

It is very important the performance of Civil Defense during exceptional situations such as heavy rains, with the purpose of protecting the population and the economy in the event of disasters, as well as the consequences of the deterioration of the environment.

But the most important thing is to change the current situation, we are to protect the planet from degradation, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

We must to free the human race from the poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are to take the steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable.

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. Its Goals and targets will stimulate action in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet:

• Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
• Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
• Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
• Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
• Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

El tema sobre inundaciones es un tema muy discutido.

En la actualidad podemos tratarlo sobre planes de mitigación, osea reducir el daño que este ocasiona. Y lo que trata la adaptación, las personas que han sido afectadas por estas, plantar planes de adaptarse a estos daños, pudiendo ser frecuente.

En el IPCC se han creado herramientas que ayudan a desarrollar estos yemas.

Thanks dearly Dr. Alicia and Dr. Henry for your valuable comments and support for the discussion. Kind regards

Following. Great conversations

Following

Flooding could probably be called a natural as well as man made phenomenon. But what is most important is to identify the river as not just a body of water which flows from Point A to Point B. It is a living ecosystem which shows different characteristics at every point of its journey. Unfortunately manmade one size fits all solutions have often exacerbated problems, more than solving them.

One of the answers herein mentioned how flooding is due to breach of levees and dams. Actually this could be identified as a problem, but it may be pertinent that in the age of climate change we see flash floods much more often than before. A prime example were the Chennai floods in 2015 in India, there was record rainfalls from the beginning of November 2015, the beginning of the North West Monsoon. The dam held out until the beginning of December. But when again heavy rainfall took place, the authorities were forced to open the flood gates leading to heavy flooding downstream. This took most places downstream by surprise and there was heavy loss of life and assets. Pollution leading to silting, unscientific constructions in the catchment regions and downstream were all reasons that made the situation worse.

The European Union incidentally has a Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) to tackle this particular issue. All States are required to conduct Flood Risk Assessments for their river basin districts and enact Flood Risk Management Plans for areas identified to have a high risk for flooding. The plans are to address all aspects of flood risk management including prevention, protection, preparedness and forecasts. This is perhaps a legal instrument/ policy that could be replicated in other parts of the world as well. Of course legal instruments such as this require much political will and infrastructure to be implemented and effectuated. In India for instance many States especially are at different stages of mapping their wetlands and the coastal regulation zones, but we do not have an equivalent one for rivers or floodplains. I hope this was useful.

Besides addressing the normal environmental issues and problems.

There can be a network of canals which can connect various rivers in a country. After connecting rivers with a system of canals the water can be diverted to the dry areas of the country/region.

This system has been under consideration in India since many decades. Due to political reasons it could not be fully implemented.

Thanks dearly Dr. Neha and Dr. Vibha for your valuable comments. I sincerely appreciate your excellent contributions and illustrations from other countries. Kind regards

Flood destroyed life and property in Jibia, a town in Katsina state ,nothern part of Nigeria and Aiytetoro, in Ondo State Nigeria. These are natural deserter or phenomenon.

Thanks Dr. Kayode for your illustration from Nigeria. But are floods wholly natural? Ain't many of the rampant ones today man-made? Many of our colleagues think so. What do you say about it? Kind regards

This is indeed an important and very valuable discussion. I empathize with you dear colleague, the Ghanaian nation and indeed with many others that are affected by this natural disaster of floods. Just an addition to what has been discussed on what we can do about the flooding that has been reported globally. First of all in order to find a solution to a problem, there is need to understand the root cause, then we can either try to prevent it, or if we cannot avoid then we reduce the impacts and manage the disaster in a sustainable way. It is therefore imperative that we understand some of the causes of floods and then try to mitigate or be ready to respond when it occurs in a more prepared manner. One of the main causes of floods is heavy rainfall which has a direct bearing on the increased water levels in rivers, oceans and seas. It should be noted that increased rainfall is as a direct result of climate change.

According to climatology (scientific study of climate), One of the conclusion is that about 60% of precipitation (rain and snow) is generated directly from the water bodies and 40% of the precipitation is recycled. Therefore, the amount of rainfall received in an area is directly proportional to the level of evaporated water vapor in the atmosphere.

Scientifically, the average temperature of the earth has been increasing due to global warming as a result of green-house gases effects. This presents an increase in the rate of evaporation and the atmospheric water vapor which in turn leads to high rainfall that translates to floods. It also causes the polar ice, glaciers and snow to melt as a result of increased temperatures due to the methane gas that is trapped or reflected less. It should be noted however, that climate change can also cause droughts because global warming results into extreme weather.

Proactive measures to address the issue of floods;

1. Reduce dependency on fossil fuels like coal as our major energy source and move to more renewables like hydro, solar and others. Chemically, when there is an incomplete combustion of fossils fuels, Carbon monoxide gas is produced which reacts with the oxygen molecules (depleting the Ozone layer) and then produce carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation. Chlorofluorocarbon is also another example of a greenhouse gas.

2. Plant more tress and vegetation in order to restore and achieve the carbon cycle equilibrium. Naturally, the earth was designed to absorb and utilize carbon dioxide that is produced during life processes. However, there has been an increase in the need to clear more land for development due to industrialization and urbanization and this has disturbed natural processes because of the increased generation of CO2. Some of it is absorbed by water bodies and this result to acid rains that also damage wetlands. The importance of wetlands includes water purification and other hydrological and chemical cycle related functions.

3. Prioritize issues of climate change and invest in new technology such as sunshades in space, electric cars, saltwater agriculture, waste management (capture and reuse carbon and other pollutant gases), biotechnology food production (meat production without growing animals) and urban system ecology.

4. There is need to support and monitor global climate change collective intelligence such as the Kyoto Protocol that encourages emission reduction, the Paris agreement, REDD+ and many others.

Suggestive measures of what to do during the flood

1. Flood water is potentially contaminated, so avoid contact

2. Practice the highest level of hygiene, wash with medicated soap especially your hands before and after meals

3. Disinfect all children’s toys that were in contact with flood water to avoid outbreak of epidemics and pandemics

4. Seek medical attention if you are feeling unwell or have noticed any cuts or wounds

5. Corporate with the disaster management and mitigation unit in your country on site and other units such as the paramedics, counselors and relief.

In conclusion, I am not of the view that neither Ghana nor any flood prone area is guilty of not doing all or any of the proactive measures to address the issue of flood mentioned above or indeed many others that have not been mentioned. It should be noted however, that issues to do with climate change are a collective responsibility and in most times than few, it is the poor African countries that suffer the consequences of the “evil doings” of other developing and developed countries. In order for us to address this issue of climate change, each and every individual can start by being the change they want to see. Be responsible enough and take care of this earth because it is the only one we have. If we harvest more resources than the earth can replenish itself, and if we over depend and continue to exploit the non-renewable sources of energy such as coal, we shall suffer the consequences, maybe we can survive some of the negative impacts of unsustainable practices, but in one way or another someone will have to pay and I hate to say that it can be our future generation.

Dear Dr. Beverly,

Many thanks for your very comprehensive and practical suggestions. I appreciate your support to the discussion. Best regards

Dickson

Dear Dickson,

It is very true that some of the floods were as a result of human activities. The flooding in some of our cities are man made and it was because residents refused to abide by some simple environmental laws.

Hmmmm... Very disturbing Dr. Kayode. How do we help curb this canker? Thanks

Following

I agree with @Kayode, that blink eye of administration and the irregularities in enforcement of regularized construction and their development is the main cause.... a common problem in developing countries.

Recently Japan went through some thing new......"training" of thunderstorms. When atmospheric conditions are just right, a thunderstorm can create multiple storms behind it, essentially lining up and inundating the same region over and over......It's called "training" because the storms line up like the cars of a train.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/13/asia/japan-floods-intl/index.html

Dear Prof. Krishnan,

Thank you for your great support and very useful illustration from Japan in nourishing the discussion. I am heartily grateful. Kind regards

Thanks dear Dickson for this issue and I really appreciated all the contributions... Living in Tunisia and within an ASA (arid/semi arid region) I heard our ancients say '' Destructive flodings rather than Drought''... once in the university, after a dramatic disaster in Sfax, I heard a so called responsible saying: '' We thought that this river was dead, as we burried it and filled it by vairous kinds of deposits...'' And everywhere we are witnessing several voracious managements urbanizing plans without any consideration for the nature laws and needs ...

There is a real contact problems between the researchers, the policy makers and teh money makers... The misbehaviouris the first cause of the aggravation we are seeing nowadays... all the soluions seem acceptable but we must '' think globally and act locally'' ... and we have to adopt the Integrated approach either in its horizontal, vertical or temporal dimension... the approach must be inclusive rather than exclusive ... as long as money is not the master mind of our livinghood...

Dear Dr. Hamed,

I deeply appreciate your valuable comment on the subject and the wonderful support you have offered to the discussion. Kind regards

Dickson

Dear colleagues, as many of you, I appreciated a lot this great discussion with transmit the impression that flooding is as old as the world, and the use of it, or the strugle against it, have always been the lot of humanity… Remember : Egypt was a gift of the Nile floodings…. Best Regards

There are already given many useful recommendations. From the view point of city and landscape planning in Germany it could be added that it is important to increase water retention in the cities. As stormwater rainfalls happen more and more the usual centralized system cannot carry the water away. Therefore you have to retain the water and you have to develop decentralized approaches. This can be done by greening roofs and addding swales and infiltration ditches in the green areas around houses. Swales and infiltration ditches can also be built parallel to streets, in public sqares and parks. Recently double use areas are constructed which are a play ground under normal conditions and water basins in a heavy rain fall, e.g. in Rotterdam. The city of Kopenhagen has also very advanced projects.

http://www.klimatilpasning.dk/media/838037/Climate%20Adapted%20Cities_WEB.pdf

For more information see also

www.kuras-projekt.de (in German)

But the big catastrophes result usually from the fact that poor people build their homes in flood plains because they cannot afford it in a better location. This is a long term social and economic problem which has to be dealt with on regional government levels and state level.

Dear Dr. Almut,

Thank you for your great participation in this discussion with very rich comments, illustrations and useful links. I am sincerely grateful. Kind regards

Many thanks to you Dr. Michel for your interesting comment on the subject. I heartily appreciate your support to the discussion. Kind regards

Good solution

https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/cowi/solutions/reducing-the-risk-of-flooding-in-mozambique/

Many thanks Dr. Marcus for sharing the excellent strategy of Mozambique on overcoming the risks associated with flooding. I am very grateful

Climate change models will fix most of the reported issues/cases.

One could look at the issue in two ways (1) Assuming that flooding events are hard to predict and control what are some ways we can minimize damage to life and property? and (2) What can we do to minimze flooding events and/or their impacts?

Q1: One can discourage settlements closer to a river or sea. This may be difficult because from historic times people have lived close to sources of water for agricultural and other purposes. Creating a buffer zone where development is kept to a minimum and providing incentives for people to live in low flood risk areas may be some avenues. Well thought out emergency management plans may also fit this category.

Q2: A few things can be done to minimze the impact of flooding events depending on the geography. Restoration of wetlands, restoration of river paths to their original meandering patterns, providing an adequate network of canals for overflow, taking an active role in implementing programs to offset climate change, implementing erosion minimization strategies, etc. may hold answers. Wild fire scar areas are highly prone to erosion. Thus controlled burning of excessive forest fuel on a periodic basis may address this issue of flash flooding following a wildfire event.

I sincerely appreciate your valuable opinions Drs Srini, Kenneth, Hachimenum, and Kennedy. Thank you so much for participating in this relevant discussion. Kind regards

Embracing climate change adaptation as well as good urban planning policies will help in mitigating floods and other climate-related hazards

Thanks Drs Orimoloye and Paul for your valuable contributions to the discussion. Kind regards

You are right on point, Dr. Towe. Thanks for your valuable comment to the discussion. Kind regards

One challenge is to not view the issue in isolation to other public policy concerns. For example, along the Gulf Coast of North America, restoring/preserving wetlands as a sponge that dampers flood is at odds with the control of waterways necessary to an efficient energy/refining sector. It is unlikely politically to successfully view either side of the policy question in isolation. While the solution of minmizing the density of huamn occupancy near potential flood areas is attractive, it may be fiscally impossible -- the percentage of and gross numbers of humans living within this intersection is, I suspect, massive. In the United States, the flood insurance program is -- according to many who think about it -- an example of misplaced incentives. But that experience is suggestive that one approach may be to thoughtfully create financial incentives and disincentives to construction, reconstruction, and loss mitigation behaviors.

Dear Dr. Ken Klein,

Many thanks for your intelligent opinion on how to arrest the flooding incidences. I sincerely appreciate your valuable participation in the discussion. Best regards

Some floods are unavoidable, but many others can be alleviated with proper engineering, maintenance and awareness

Thanks Dr. Mokhtar for your valuable submission. Kind regards

One way of avoiding the negative effects of flooding is to have sophisticated monitoring equipments to monitor river and sea levels. Bigger canals can be created to divert water. The effective use of canals and tunnels to divert flood water In New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is a good case study.

One must keep in mind that floodings have been and always will be a real component of our natural hazards... The optimal management of territory is the key to lessen the damages generated by rainfall of high intensity... Urbanisation does just increase greatly the runoff intensity and thus the risks ... Each river has its bed and mainly its flooding area gained since thousands of years ... So in our frenetic dynamics of buildings and... we must consider all these elements otherwise the danger is and will be always there ....

Floods can be minimised by proper planning on water management ecologically. We should respect natural path of water flow. Improper planning gives temporary solutions.

Being technocrats, try maximum to implement ethics that we thought ,experienced and executing . All lapses in laws have to be tolerated efficiently. Disaster management principles must be ready for future use without bias and be straightforward with zero corruption.

Interesting thoughts

Incidences of flooding are avoidable in most cases. Building of structures along waterways should be avoided, waste disposal should be on designated areas, town planning authorities should be alive to their responsibilities and flood control measures should not be cosmetic especially in this modern era of technology.