Be Prepared for Floods: Create a Flood Safety Plan - Essay Sample

Introduction

Floods due to either natural or man-made activities can happen at any time and can result in a severe loss of properties and lives. Being prepared for a flood, particularly in times of heightened risk is imperative to staying safe and secure when the floods strike. Flood safety plans should comprise of identification of zone of risk around homes and neighborhood, knowing evacuations channels and staying clear of streams, drainage system and regions which are prone to flash flooding. One effective approach in being prepared for flood hazard is through the mitigation process. Mitigation is a process to minimize or alleviate the loss of life, injury, and property damage which can result from flooding through both long and short term techniques. It entails strategies such as planning, policy change, projects, programs, and, other practices which can mitigate the impact of floods (Scolobig etal. 2015). At the heart of flood mitigation measures and activities lie involvement of business, private property owners, industries, state, local, and, the federal government.

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This assessment was conducted at Thurston County. The first hazard management plan for Thurston County was prepared in 1999. However, this plan has undergone through several changes in not only local advancement but also other conditions since its establishment to formulate a new flood hazard mitigation and recovery plan as an update tool for flood preparedness. This new plan was formulated to be able to meet different state or federal program necessities as well as the needs of Thurston County together with its citizens. Other reasons that made to be updated was to coordinate existing plan and programs so that high-priority measures and projects to mitigate possible disaster impacts funded and executed, develop a connection between the flood hazard mitigation plan and developed plans of Thurston County so that they can collaborate to attain successful mitigation process. All citizens and businesses of Thurston County are the final beneficiaries of this plan. Involvement in the advancement of the plan by stakeholders assisted ensuring that outcome will be mutually beneficial. This new development has given rise the following programs

Buyout Programs

Flood buyout program funds the local government to buy suitable homes prone to regular flooding from voluntary owners, willing, and return the land to open space. Presently the program is fully sponsored by the local funding. Properties are prioritized for buyout grounded on their flood risk and the mitigation benefits to the community. Input to the program success is its capability to produce fairly steady revenue through the county's storm water utility fee.

Structural Retrofitting

Structural retrofitting is another approach which can reduce the personal and community impacts of floods. Flood associated initiatives include raising a house above the ground., placing in flood channels for crawl space and moving essential building infrastructure from the flat surface into an attic space. This promotes has moved a step forward since it offers competitive mitigation funds and technical assistance to support owner's flood- proofing initiatives as a way of encouraging residents with property in the controlled floodplain to make their houses more resistance to damage due to floods.

Most of the risk-reducing practices are conducted by local jurisdictions through public verification, environmental measures, ad, and capital enhancements. As home rule instructs, it is the lowest levels of incorporated government which has the majority of tasks to execute mitigation programs.

Cause of Kerala Flood

According to Mathew (2018), heavy flooding caused the death of about 360 individuals in Kerala in 2018. This flood is considered as the most severe natural disaster to strike the Southern Indian State. Roughly, 1 million individuals were displaced after 80 dams were flooded by torrential rain. There have also been important losses in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, and Nagaland as an outcome of individuals drowning into waters or killed by falling rocks from landslides, triggered by running streams displacing the weak earth crust.

This flash flooding resulted when a rapid downpour becomes so heavy that the underlying forces of the earth crust could not put up with the sheer volume of water it was exposed to and become saturated prior it had an opportunity to drain the waters away. In addition, the area has flat terrain; the intensity of flash floods could have been attributed by an intense concentration of rain from a thunderstorm on dry soil, unused to ready absorption.

Flood Response

According to the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Government of India appointed the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialized reaction to hazards. During the Kerala floods, the number of NDRF that was developed was 58 (Mathew, 2018). This was the highest ever deployed numbers of NDRF in just a state since it was rising and subsequently become the biggest-ever hazard response and recovery practice. It wise move of Commander Vijay Sharma of the Indian Navy, who competently airlifted a pregnant woman and rescued 26 lives. The civil society comprising NGOs, corporate, and, fisher folk backed the state effort in disaster response. For instance, a volunteer platform and social media served a significant role in the allocation of relief material such as medicines, food packets, blankets, and, clothes. The fishermen also deployed their boats to participate in rescue exercises. The media depended less on sensationalism and reported the occurrences with integrity.

Nonetheless, more need to be done for effectively preparing for floods. There is a requirement for a holistic approach to handle floods. For instance, there are needs for an understandable plan. There should a key plan for guiding and control floods during mitigation and recovery process.

It is significant for county governments and governments departments to not act in silos when making future emergencies. Chance should be awarded to all stakeholders to contribute to the dialogue when decisions are being driven which affect the future plan of the affected community as a whole. Robust coordination mechanisms will also aid to delegate roles and responsibilities and prevent duplication of efforts and wastage of precious resources. A weak coordination technique is a sign of a fault line in relief settings- this frequently fuels victims anger and frustrations (Schanze, 2006).

The second lesson that can be learned is that quick decisions and strong leadership are key elements to usher in relief and recovery efforts. It is significant to show strong leadership to establish confidence and trust of the victim and the media. Momentum and direction are generated by strong leadership. In other, they are two ingredients that define quality, speed, appropriateness, and, coverage of relief. A primary lesson being: consultation is primary, but compromise is optional. A real trial of leadership in a hazard can lie in the time it takes for leaders to seek assistance. When a disaster occurs asking for assistance is not an indicator of weakness, it is a key character of strong leadership. That alone will motivate others in the hierarchy to seek help.

Reference

Mathew, B. (2018). Risk Analysis of Dam Failure, Floods and Growing Water Crisis in Kerala. Floods and Growing Water Crisis in Kerala (September 22, 2018).

Schanze, J. (2006). Flood risk management-a basic framework. In Flood risk management: hazards, vulnerability and mitigation measures (pp. 1-20). Springer, Dordrecht.

Scolobig, A., Prior, T., Schroter, D., Jorin, J., & Patt, A. (2015). Towards people-centred approaches for effective disaster risk management: Balancing rhetoric with reality. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 12, 202-212. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.01.006