Flood prevention: Construction not only answer
Walls, drains, dams are built & sit there for a long time while flood risks change. Flexible risk info-driven approach needed.
Walls, drains, dams are built & sit there for a long time while flood risks change. Flexible risk info-driven approach needed.
A World Bank report discussing flooding in cities in Asia (especially Bangkok) is hot off the press: Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century (Download for free here and also here).
Click button to listen to World Bank On Floods to download
FLOODS
Bank urges two-pronged flood policy
14/02/2012
Anchalee Kongrut
World Bank experts have urged the government to embark on a two-pronged investment drive for flood prevention infrastructure.
''Policymakers need to strike a balance between structural and non-structural measures,'' Pamela Cox, the World Bank East Asia and Pacific regional vice-president said.
Ms Cox was speaking after the World Bank yesterday unveiled its 628-page report, Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century.
The report, which aims to provide guidelines to policymakers, said the most effective way to manage flood risk is to take an integrated approach which combines both structural and non-structural measures.
Structural measures include the building of dams and flood drainage channels.
Non-structural measures include environmental buffers, flood warning systems and land use planning conducive to flood prevention.
Asian countries have the highest level of urban flood risk in the world, the report said.
About 60% of Asia's population lives in urban areas and 50% of flood losses last year were in the region.
Waraporn Hirunwatsiri, the bank's environmental specialist, urged the government to carefully weigh pricey infrastructure investment.
''Many structures are built and they sit there for a long time, while flood risks often change,'' she said.
The World Bank also urged governments in Asia to invest more on improving flooding and risk data.
''Investing $1 in risk information can save $4 to $8,'' Abhas Jha, the report's lead author, said.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Bank urges two-pronged flood policy, 14/02/2012, Anchalee Kongrut, link)
Flood Management Vocabulary
policy - a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes (See Wikipedia) นโยบาย
two-pronged - using two different ways or approaches
two-pronged flood policy
Bank urges two-pronged flood policy
urged - advised someone very strongly about what action should be taken วิงวอน requested them to do, encouraged people to do, tried to get them to do
embark - start doing something
two-pronged investment drive for flood prevention infrastructure.
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
drive - a planned effort to achieve something การผลักดัน,ความพยายาม
prevention - the act of stopping some bad thing from happening
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains) สาธารณูปโภค
World Bank experts have urged the government to embark on a two-pronged investment drive for flood prevention infrastructure.
policymakers - government officials who make policy
strike a balance between - take the middle path, combine things so you do not use too much of one thing
measures - actions taken to deal with a problem มาตราการ
structural measures - building or constructing large "structures" or infrastructure, such as dams and flood drainage channels.
non-structural measures - ways of solving problems that do not require spending a lot of money on construction projects such as environmental buffers, flood warning systems, land use planning conducive to flood prevention.
''Policymakers need to strike a balance between structural and non-structural measures,'' Pamela Cox, the World Bank East Asia and Pacific regional vice-president said.
unveil- introduce แนะนำ announce something officially that was previously a secret เปิดเผย
unveil report
the World Bank yesterday unveiled its 628-page report, Cities and Flooding
provide - to give someone something that they want or need
guidelines - rules to help guide action; directions and instructions on how to do something แนวทาง นโยบาย
provide guidelines
risk - danger, how likely or possible it is for a bad event that causes harm and damage ความเสี่ยง
flood risk
manage flood risk
effective - producing the result that was intended ได้ผลดี
the most effective way to manage flood risk
integrated - combining things of different types in one effective system; combined so that they operate as one unit , one whole ที่รวมเข้าด้วยกัน
approach - a particular way of doing something or thinking about something วิธีการทำให้ถึงจุดหมาย a way of doing or dealing with something การจัดการกับปัญหา
integrated approach - a way of solving a problem that combines different methods or ways of problem solving
take an integrated approach
The report, which aims to provide guidelines to policymakers, said the most effective way to manage flood risk is to take an integrated approach which combines both structural and non-structural measures.
dam - a big cement wall in a river that holds back water, storing it for agriculture or electricity generation เขื่อน, เขื่อนกั้นน้ำ
drainage - the system of water or waste liquids flowing away from somewhere into the ground or down pipes การระบายน้ำ
channel - a narrow passage dug in the ground that water can travel along, a waterway ร่องน้ำ, ขุดเป็นร่อง
flood drainage channels - waterways used to remove flood water from flooded areas
Structural measures include the building of dams and flood drainage channels.
buffer - an area that protects by being between a dangerous thing and the thing it is protecting
environmental buffers - a natural area that protects (such as swamp area, agricultural area "monkey cheeks", etc)
land use planning - government planning to regulate land-use so there are no conflicts, for example noisy factories or smelly pig farms next to homes (residential area) would create conflicts between land owners (See Wikipedia)
conducive to - helps makes happen, makes more likely to happen
Non-structural measures include environmental buffers, flood warning systems and land use planning conducive to flood prevention.
urban - connected with towns and cities (not rural area) เขตเมือง ในเมือง ที่เกี่ยวกับเมือง
urban flood risk - the risk of flooding in cities
population - all the people who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มพืชและสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
Asian countries have the highest level of urban flood risk in the world, the report said. About 60% of Asia's population lives in urban areas and 50% of flood losses last year were in the region.
weigh - evaluate, assess and decide whether it is worth the money spent on it
pricey - expensive, costs a lot
carefully weigh pricey infrastructure investment
Waraporn Hirunwatsiri, the bank's environmental specialist, urged the government to carefully weigh pricey infrastructure investment. ''Many structures are built and they sit there for a long time, while flood risks often change,'' she said.
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
flooding and risk data
The World Bank also urged governments in Asia to invest more on improving flooding and risk data.
lead author - the leader of the group of authors who wrote the report
''Investing $1 in risk information can save $4 to $8,'' Abhas Jha, the report's lead author, said.
