This year a ‘turning point’ for how governments view flood threat

This year could be a “turning point” for how governments worldwide view the threat of floods, the head of the United Nations office for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) says.

“India, Nepal, Canada and many countries in Europe have experienced huge losses over the last two months due to intense precipitation events which have triggered extreme flooding affecting millions of people’s well-being and livelihoods,” Margareta Wahlström said in a recent article on the UNISDR website.

“The shocking loss of life in India underlines how vitally important it is that we start planning for future scenarios far removed from anything that we may have experienced in the past,” she said.

“When we look at the worldwide escalation in economic losses from disasters over the last five years, it is clear that our exposure to extreme events is growing and this trend needs to be addressed through better land use and more resilient infrastructure as we seek to cope with population growth and rapid urbanization,” she noted.

“Flood management systems need to be designed so that even if they are overwhelmed by flood waters, the failure is not catastrophic,” she said, adding that “UNISDR emphasizes the need for early warning systems, reduction of social vulnerability through land use planning and leadership at local government level.”

On average, 250 million people have been affected annually by floods over the last decade, according to the UNISDR. “Major contributing factors include poor urban planning which increases flood hazard due to unsuitable land use change; increases in paving and other impermeable surfaces; poorly maintained drainage, sanitation and solid waste infrastructure,” the organization notes.

The UNISDR has been running a campaign called “Making Cities Resilient” for three years.

The campaign aims to raise awareness about reducing urban risk, and encourages governments to invest in disaster risk reduction activities and build more resilient infrastructure within cities.

That campaign has almost 1,500 participating local governments, including eight in Canada. It also has named 30 “role model” cities, including Saanich, B.C., North Vancouver and the District of Oak Bay in B.C.