Water On The Land Case Studie Flashcards
Effects of the 2011 Queensland flood
- 1000s of homes underwater.
- 97 communities flooded or isolated
- 3rd largest city underwater and paralysed for a week
- 77 suburbs affected including Ipswich and Brisbon
- 32,000 homes and businesses flooded
- CBD submerged
- cars and people swept away people trapped on roofs of homes
- 4.5m high of water
- reception centre caught alight
- 35 people died
- 100,000 people had electricity cut off
- mines flooded
- crops destroyed
- £19 billion worth of damage
- area larger than France and Germany underwater
- putrid mud and debris left
- GDP reduced by Australian$30bill
Responses to the queensland flood
- Towns evacuated by helicopter. 43 lives saved by helicopters
- beach surfer rescue teams deployed as rescue teams on the river
- volunteers cleaned streets
- refugee centre
- prime minister responded to raise morale
- evacuation
- 300,000 stand bags distributed
- flood warnings broadcasted
- Australian defence force raised ast$10 million with a national television appeal
- australia and england donated their match fee at the 20 twenty cricket
- roger federer and rafeal nadal did a relay for relief and raised Aus$750,000
- australian government promised to raise the $5.6bill needed by spending cuts and taxing those unaffected by the floods
Causes of the Bangladesh 2004 flood
Natural:
•monsoons between may and September leading to a daily metre of rain
•cyclones with increased severity due to global warming
•1.7 million kmsquared drainage basin flat and 14 km above sea level
•snowmelt in the himalyas increasing river discharge
•3 major rivers with high drainage density
human causes
•growing population leads to people using marginal land prone to flooding
•populated country putting pressure on resources increasing flooding as deforestation reduces interception and increases soil in the river
•irrigation in china causes agridation where silt causes river beds to rise so discharge capacity is reduced
•urbanisation in Dhaka causes impermeable concrete increases surface run off and there are no drainage systems
•glaciers in the Himalayas melting increased drainage. Glacier retreated 300m in the past 40 years
•sea levels rising means rivers cannot drain out to sea
Effects of the Bangladesh 2004 flood
•poor people live on marginal land so are vulnerable to flooding
•coastal flooding increases bank erosion
•chars form which can be used for agriculture, however they can be removed in a single flood
•people that are unhomed migrate to Dhaka leading to overcrowding and living rough
•750 killed and millions made homeless
•contaminated water lead to disease- 100,000 people in Dhaka suffered from diarrhoea
•900 bridges destroyed and 15,000km road damage
•crops list lead to food shortages
•financial loss for businesses and shops
•communications damaged making co-ordinating rescue efforts difficult
•agricultural land flooded and contaminated by polluted water
•50% of the country covered
$7billion damaged to schools and hospitals
Short term responses to the Bangladesh 2004 floods
- farmers provided with free seeds
- £21 million foreign aid from the Uk
- water purification tablets
- food aid from government and other countries
- Dhaka integrated flood protection project
- flood shelter: 2ha of raised land where people can bring livestock. Each shelter has space for 100 families and includes a toilet
- radios issuing warnings
- people helped to rescue others
Hard engineering responses to bangladesh 2004 flood
- Embankment raised to prevent flooding- needs to be maintained and is expensive
- new channel, underground drains and pumping projects
- homes built above yearly flood level by foreign aid
- cruster villages built on raised land above water levels, land given to grow food and shared facilities such as schools
- flood shelters build for people to stay during floding
Causes of the Queensland Australia 2011 flood
- wettest December on record
- steady rise in river levels over a period of time
- 300 mm of rainfall and 36 hours of insistent rainfall. 200mm in just two hours
- dam at over 190% capacity which were mismanaged as water escaped from it at a rate of 6,000 swimming pools per second- 80% of the peak floodwater
- huge volume of water
- deadly torrent-faster than before
- development in floodplain areas
- cyclone Anthony gave excessive rainfall
- La Ninã generated heavy rain clouds
Soft engineering responses to bangladesh 2004 floodd
- adapting farming techniques and lively hoods so that people are less affected by diversifying livelihoods
- fish cages which are moved nearer to embankment at the time of a flood. The citizens are trained and have a low interest loan. The income from the fish help build a home and send children to school
- pumpkins grown by 100s of farmers during flood season. Training by non-government organisations on how to grow them and infrastructure provided.75% profit and can be grown on infertile land which is left behind by floods. The pumpkins fit with water cycle so they can be planted after the flood and harvested before the flood. Money produced can buy goats to support the family and pumpkins can be stored to eat during flood season
- ducks can survive floods while vegetation can’t .200-400 eggs sold a day and they eat harmful insects making rice growing easier and enabling them to send their children to school
