Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

1. TOWARDS FASTER LONG-TERM RECOVERY AFTER FLOODS:EXAMPLE: 2008 MIDWEST USA AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA 

2. 2015: FLOODS ARE A GLOBAL NATURAL HAZARD • FLOODS • SEVERE WINDSTORMS • EARTHQUAKES • DROUGHTS • VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS • ETC.

3. WITH 2015’S SPRING FLOODS ONLY WEEKS AWAY, ITS PAST TIME TO SPEED UP THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY PROCESS FOR FLOODS

4. FLOODS • Floods occur somewhere in the world 10,000 times or more each year.

5. FLOOD-INDUCED LANDSLIDES • Many of the global flood occurrences also trigger landslides, mudslides, mudflows, and rock falls.

6. FLOODS • Floods, which can be either slow onset or rapid onset events (i.e., flash floods), occur when a locale can not process the amount of water that it is receiving in a normal manner.

7. FLOODS occur when water accumulates too rapidly to be processed in the locale from: a) natural events such as rainfall and snow melt, b) storm surge and heavy rain from hurricanes and typhoons, and c) tsunami waves

8. 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

9. NOTE:INUNDATION BECOMES A POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENT WHEN IT a) TRIGGERS LANDSLIDES, b) INTERACTS WITH A COMMUNITY’S BUILDINGS, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, CROPS, AND c) CREATES A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES

10. THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: MIDWESTERN USA and ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER JUNE-JULY 2008

11. MIDWEST AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS

12. THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA; JUNE 12

13. THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA; JUNE 13

14. MIDWEST FLOODS: CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, JUNE 17th

15. THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: IOWA CORNFIELDS; JUNE 19

16. THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: FOLEY, MO; JUNE 19

17. MIDWEST FLOODS RECEDE AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS BEGIN: JUNE 18th

18. MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS: QUINCY, ILLINOIS; JUNE 18

19. MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS: JUNE 19

20. . THE GREAT FLOODS OF 2008: ST LOUIS, MO; JUNE 20th

21. THE GREAT FLOODs OF 2008: WINFIELD, MO; JUNE 29

22. After weeks of flooding through Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Wisconsin, the region faced billions of dollars in losses, threats of disease, and a long cleanup. The total direct and indirect losses may never be known. THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2008

23. 1) dozens of flooded towns and cities, 2) inundated homes and businesses, 3) lost crops and productivity of farm land, 4) loss of function of roads. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES

24. 5) loss of function of bridges, 6) overwhelmed utilities, 7) thirty-eight thousand evacuees, 8) regional business interruption, 9) loss of tourism, THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES

25. 10) long-term clean-up (removal of debris, sewage, garbage, 10-million sandbags) 11) drying out of houses and businesses and their contents, 12) rebuilding of houses and levees. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES

26. 13) disposal of damaged home systems (e.g., refrigerators), 14) restoration of water quality in wells and municipal water systems 15) restoration of schools and universities. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES

27. 16) restoration of millions of acres of prime farm land. 17) rebuilding of cities such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa (estimates reach at least $1 billion). THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE LOSSES

28. WILL THE FLOODS IN THE MIDWEST AND ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER CAUSE OTHER DISASTERS? WATER RELATED DISEASES POLLUTION DEAD ZONES JUNE - JULY 2008

29. The flood waters seeped into countless wells, affecting drinking water for thousands of homes and businesses across the region. Hazardous materials were also released into the flood waters. THREAT OF E-COLI AND TETNUS

30. Mold, which begins growing within 24 hours, was a threat for causing severe allergic reactions and potentially fatal respiratory seizures. MOULD: THE HAZARD AT HOME AFTER WATERS RECEDE

31. Flood waters loaded with of tons of fertilizer and farm debris runoff were headed down the Mississippi River. This deluge could dramatically increase soil and water pollution along the entire Mississippi. THREAT OF POLLUTION

32. A dead zone, which already exists in the Gulf of Mexico, is starved for oxygen and can not support aquatic life. THREAT OF A WIDER DEAD ZONE

33. ENLARGED DEAD ZONE IN GULF OF MEXICO

34. THE GREAT MIDWEST FLOODS OF 2008 REJUVENATED THE BUYOUT STRATEGY IN FIVE STATES JULY 17, 2008

35. THE FLOODPLAIN BUYOUT IS A RISK REDUCTION STRATEGY THAT BREAKS THE LONG-TERM FLOOD DISASTER CYCLE

36. In 1993, 12,000 properties in the floodplain were bought and another 500 structures were either relocated out of the floodplain, or elevated. 1993 BUYOUTS AFTER THE GREAT MIDWEST FLOOD

37. Buyouts were offered in September 2008 to those in the floodplains of five mid-western states: Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri Indiana, and Illinois that experienced flooding. BUYOUTS OFFERED IN FIVE STATES