Exploring new ways to manage the devastation caused by floods
Throughout history, floods have always created great damage and untold suffering for millions of people. They can cause huge economic losses and affect a larger community of people as they have greater potential than other natural disasters. To mitigate the risks posed by the flood, we are in need of new ways that can replace the conventional strategies in an effective way. This is the reason for the booming in Flood Restoration Orange County.
As the traditional disaster management techniques are derived from the past by trial methods, such strategies can no longer be useful in the present due to the improved natural conditions and priorities. For example, building a large reservoir cannot be a feasible solution in the present environment as the flood is not limited from the main stem rivers, but also can come from any other sub basins. Thus, flash floods that can potentially bring heavy damage cannot be controlled by traditional methods.
New approach of the Flood Restoration
An integrated flood risk management approach which aligns the guidelines of water resource management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management have to be adopted and each of the elements have to be researched according to the various status of a place like social, economic, climatic and other geo-physical conditions. The spatial, functional and institutional integration is required when it comes to designing the new integrated flood risk management strategy.
Spatial integration should identify that the Flood Restoration San Diego can alter the flood risk downstream of the river basin, thereby preventing the city from floods. Functional integration is the understanding of the affected sectors that includes transport, agriculture and environment. By intervening into the other sectors, the flood risks can be modified. Institutional coordination is the major element as many government agencies are involved in the management of different sectors, the need for flood footprint mapping and a mechanism of accountability at a river basin scale is required.
Flood footprint should be both progressive and reverse, i.e., the potential impacts of the flood that gets reflected on the other sectors have to be identified, and the flood risks caused by various sector developments have to be analysed. Thus, these footprints can look for both positive and negative aspects when it comes to their impact on flood risk management. For a successful development of an integrated flood risk management model, the changes in the flood footprint have to be analysed.
Challenges for the Process
Though there are lots of challenges in the new modernized strategy to mitigate the risks posed by the flood, we are in need of an optimized investment program that can produce more sustainable results. For example, a cross sectional integration of all the water management – waste water management, solid waste management and Flood Restoration Orange County, in both the city side and village area nearby the river, can synergistically increase the quality of the water, reduces the flood risk and increase the communal space for other amenities.
Another important key factor that has to be addressed in the modern integrated approach of flood risk management, other than the flood footprint is the climatic change as they can dramatically affect the impacts caused by the flood by aggravating it. The relationship between the flood, the climatic changes and our ecosystem must be researched properly which can act as a guideline for the new approach. Other factors that have to be overlooked are the population growth, industrial development, use of land along with its physical condition and the vegetation cover of the watersheds. By analysing every factor with reasonable assumptions, trend and sensitivity analysis, a plan can be cooked that can affect everything to the least.
Since the way we manage floods can affect the ecosystem of river basins and the flood plains, there are more possibilities for the degradation of water quality in the river or the instability of the river channel. Such serious environmental changes can affect the seasonal and spatial distribution of the water and the other resources we are getting from the river such as food, fish and fibre can be at risk due to the changes we are making. Thus, along with the effective flood management strategy, an environmental risk management strategy also has to be designed with the proper research of all the areas. By creating a harmony with the environment, risk management becomes more of a green process, which can help protect our ecosystem, that not all the engineer works can do.
The careful implementation of the new management plan of Flood Restoration Orange County, by researching all the elements involved, we can make room for the river to flood without causing any damage to the civilization. The flood water can be diverted to soil as a groundwater management or it can be efficiently captured by using roofs or paved roads. By this way, such water can be reused by the community.
It has to be understood that the Flood Restoration San Diego does not equal the flood protection, but with proper designing strategy and careful implementation of it in the river basin can mitigate the risk to a greater extent. The gaps and challenges of the integrated flood management system have to be studied more for the minimization of the devastating events caused by floods.
