LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS KAZAKHSTAN PART 1: FLOODS

1. LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERSKAZAKHSTANPART 1: FLOODS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA 

2. NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED DISASTERS IN KAZAKHSTAN FLOODS GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES DUST STORMS EARTHQUAKES HIGH BENEFIT/COST PROGRAMS FOR BECOMING DISASTER RESILIENT WILDFIRES ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

3. Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmospheric-hydrospheric-lithospheric interactions cause: • FLOODS

4. KAZAKHSTAN

5. Kazakhstan has many communities that are at risk from flooding from its 8,500 small and large rivers (e.g., the Ural, Emba, Syr Darya, Irtysh, Ischim and Tobol—the largest).

6. ELEMENTS OF RISK AND DISASTER

7. HAZARDS EXPOSURE VULNERABILITY LOCATION ELEMENTS OF FLOOD RISK RISK

8. FLOOD HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • TOO MUCH WATER DISCHARGED WITHIN THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO BE ACCOMMODATED NORMALLY IN THE REGIONAL WATER CYCLE • EROSION • SCOUR • MUDFLOWS

9. EACH FLOOD HAZARDIS A POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENT

10. A DISASTER CAN HAPPENWHEN THE POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS OF A FLOOD INTERACT WITH KAZAKHSTAN’S COMMUNITIES

11. CAUSES OF RISK LOSS OF FUNCTION OF STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN INUNDATION INTERACTION WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS DAMAGE FROM WATER FLOODS WATER BORNE DISEASES (HEALTH PROBLEMS) CASE HISTORIES EROSION AND MUDFLOWS CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER

12. A DISASTER is --- --- the set of failures that overwhelm the capability of a community torespond without external help  when three continuums: 1)  people, 2) community (i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and social constructs), and 3) complex events (e.g., floods, earthquakes,..) intersect at a point in space and time.

13. Disasters are caused by single- or multiple-event natural hazards that, (for various reasons), cause extreme levels of mortality, morbidity, homelessness, joblessness, economic losses, or environmental impacts.

14. THE REASONS ARE . . . • When it does happen, the functions of the community’s buildings and infrastructure will be LOST because they are UNPROTECTED with the appropriate codes and standards.

15. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability of adverse consequences event.

16. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community has NODISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

17. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations.

18. THE REASONS ARE . . . • The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences.

19. FLOODS IN SOUTH-KAZAKHSTAN OBLASTFEBRUARY 2012 SPRING RUNOFF AFTER A HARSH WINTER EXACERBATED THE FLOOD RISKS IN KAZAKHSTAN

20. Early warming and heavy rainfall caused snow melt to flood 12 regions and 226 villages.

21. FLOODING IN SOUTH- KAZAKHSTAN OBLAST: FEBRUARY 2012

22. The South-Kazakhstan oblast asked the Government for help.

23. 1,100 people were evacuated.

24. IMPACTS • According to reports, restoration of the function of all the impacted infrastructure required 1.2 billion tenge ($8 million). • Construction of 4 major bridges required 350 million tenge ($2.3 million).

25. IMPACTS (continued) • 90 million tenge ($609 thousand) were needed for 30 smaller roadway passes made of pipes. • 15 million tenge ($101 thousand) were needed for restoration of roads.

26. Flood damage in South- Kazakhstan oblast exceeded 1 billion tenge ($8 million)

27. FLOODING IN KAZAKHSTANMARCH 2010 SPRING RUNOFF AFTER A HARSH WINTER INCREASED FLOOD RISKS

28. 30+ people died in floods in the south of Kazakhstan as heavy rains and melting snow resulted in the undercutting and bursting of the Kyzyl-Agash reservoir dam in the Alma-Ata region

29. As a result of high water in the region, railway travel ground to a halt, highways were sealed off, and search and rescue operations were accelerated.

30. FLOODING IN KAZAKHSTAN

31. FLOODING SOUTH OF KAZAKHSTAN

32. FLOODING IN KAZAKHSTAN

33. Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ordered a government commission to be set up, and initiated actions to clean up the damage and provide support for the flood victims.

34. THE ALTERNATIVE TO A FLOOD DISASTER ISFLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE

35. FLOOD HAZARDS • INVENTORY • VULNERABILITY • LOCATION • PREPAREDNESS • PROTECTION • FORECASTS/SCENARIOS • EMERGENCY RESPONSE • RECOVERY and • RECONSTRUCTION FLOOD RISK POLICY OPTIONS ACCEPTABLE RISK RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE DATA BASES AND INFORMATION KAZAKHSTAN’S COMMINITIES HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

36. PURPOSE PROTECTION THREAT IDENTIFICATION AND WARNING TECHNIQUE WETLANDS, RESERVOIRS, LEVEES, DAMS REMOTE SENSING; COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES DISASTER RESILIENCE STRATEGIES FOR FLOODS

37. LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL FLOODS TECHNOLOGIES THAT FACILITATE THREAT IDENTI-FICATION FOR SMART COUNTER-MEASURES IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

38. EXAMPLE OF FLOOD PROTECTION: A DAM

39. LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL FLOODS PREPAREDNESS FOR ALL THE LIKELY FLOOD HAZARDS (E.G., HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SPILL) IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

40. LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT DISASTER RESILIENCE ALL FLOODS TIMELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE

41. PURPOSE DO NOT BUILD IN THE FLOODPLAIN FACILITATE RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE URBAN PLANNING A FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAMME DISASTER RESILIENCE STRATEGIES FOR FLOODS