Rising criticism is directed at individuals in charge of risk management, disaster prevention, and the institution in charge of urban planning as a result of disasters. The criticism of bad management and incompetence will rise to a crescendo when disasters are lethal, involve a substantial number of people, and are extensively exposed by the press in striking images of pain, loss, and suffering.
The fatal flash floods served as a wake-up call for municipal planners to take environmental norms seriously in the face of accelerating urbanization and industry. The overarching foundation for decisions regarding transportation, industry, and urban development should have been the complete range of environmental realities, and the condition of natural resources, in addition to measures that ensure human safety.
How to Handle the flash flood challenges
Human settlements have historically faced the difficulty of managing flood threats in highly populated places. The majority of cities are found along the beaches, on flood plains, and in valleys. Cities are potentially prone to flooding because of their vast amounts of impervious surfaces, which create large runoffs that the drainage system cannot handle. It is well known that flash flooding disasters in urban areas have a very high potential for harm. Urban locations have a large population density; therefore, even little flash floods may do a lot of harm.
Urban flash floods, which are at the worst end of the hazard spectrum, can have devastating effects on development. The economic consequences of flash floods will rise as a result of increased flood frequency and intensity brought on by the effects of global warming, as well as from continued urbanization and disproportionate development. For city/municipal authorities, managing urban flood threats sustainably is a challenge that is getting more and harder.
Understanding flash floods
Flash floods have distinctive characteristics from other types of flooding because they occur along rivers and channels with limited drainage areas and rise and fall very quickly. It is starkly depicted by their distinctive characteristics. It is challenging to take precautions against flash floods, which occur unexpectedly, readily, and frequently. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of catastrophic flash floods. Most often, a breach in a flood prevention system is involved.
The pattern followed by flash floods
Urban flash floods follow a pattern that is very similar in intensity. Small rivers that are fast-moving and hazardous are formed from drainage ditches, canals, and streams. If the ground is level, principal and minor highways are engulfed in torrential floods, and parking lots and streets turn into raging rivers of rushing water.
As implied by the name, flash floods arise quickly minutes or hours after a significant amount of rain. In addition to taking automobiles, tearing trees out of the earth, and even damaging highways and bridges, the water rises quickly and rushes quickly.
