The objective of this paper is to investigate and to improve understanding of the causes and circumstances of flood disaster deaths. A standardised method of classifying flood deaths is proposed and the difficulties associated with comparing and assessing existing information on flood deaths are discussed. Thirteen flood cases from Europe and the United States, resulting in 247 flood disaster fatalities, were analysed and taken as indicative of flood disaster deaths. Approximately two-thirds of the deaths occurred through drowning. Thus, a substantial number of flood disaster fatalities are not related to drowning. Furthermore, males are highly vulnerable to dying in floods and unnecessary risk-taking behaviour contributes significantly to flood disaster deaths. Based on these results, recommendations are made to prevent loss of life in floods. To provide a more solid basis for the formulation of prevention strategies, better systematic recording of flood fatalities is suggested, especially those caused by different types of floods in all countries.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0361-3666.2005.00275.x | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Protocol for extracting flow hydrograph shape metrics for use in time-series flood hydrology analysis.
PLoS One
January 2025
School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
The shape characteristics of flow hydrographs hold essential information for understanding, monitoring and assessing changes in flow and flood hydrology at reach and catchment scales. However, the analysis of individual hydrographs is time consuming, making the analysis of hundreds or thousands of them unachievable. A method or protocol is needed to ensure that the datasets being generated, and the metrics produced, have been consistently derived and validated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydrological prediction in ungauged basins based on spatiotemporal characteristics.
PLoS One
January 2025
Institute of Ocean Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
Hydrological prediction in ungauged basins often relies on the parameter transplant method, which incurs high labor costs due to its dependence on expert input. To address these issues, we propose a novel hydrological prediction model named STH-Trans, which leverages multiple spatiotemporal views to enhance its predictive capabilities. Firstly, we utilize existing geographic and topographic indicators to identify and select watersheds that exhibit similarities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoupling tree-ring and geomorphic analyses to reconstruct the 1950s massive Glacier Lake Outburst Flood at Grosse Glacier, Chilean Patagonia.
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; dendrolab.ch, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Over recent decades, global warming has led to sustained glacier mass reduction and the formation of glacier lakes dammed by potentially unstable moraines. When such dams break, devastating Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) can occur in high mountain environments with catastrophic effects on populations and infrastructure. To understand the occurrence of GLOFs in space and time, build frequency-magnitude relationships for disaster risk reduction or identify regional links between GLOF frequency and climate warming, comprehensive databases are critically needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvaluating the influence of human activities on flood severity and its spatial heterogeneity across the Pearl River Delta.
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Marine Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address:
With climate change and intensified human activities, disasters such as heavy rainfall, flooding, typhoons, and storm surges are becoming more frequent, posing significant threats to lives, property, and economic development. We propose a method combining extreme value theory and probability distribution to examine the flood severity under the effect of strong human activities. By focusing on the Pearl River Delta (PRD), as one of the most populated areas of China, we quantified changes in the severity of extreme water level for different return levels between 1966 and 1990 and 1991-2016 (with strong human activities), associated with the spatial patterns over the PRD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFunding rules that promote equity in climate adaptation outcomes.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.
Many climate policies adopt improving equity as a key objective. A key challenge is that policies often conceive of equity in terms of individuals but introduce strategies that focus on spatially coarse administrative areas. For example, the Justice40 Initiative in the United States requires 518 diverse federal programs to prioritize funds for "disadvantaged" census tracts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!