Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Flood Hazard and Disaster

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

Deluge; Freshet; Spate; Inundation. The word flood comes from the Old English flod, a word common to Germanic languages (compare German Flut, Dutch Vloed from the same root as seen in flow, float). Deluge myths are stories of a great flood sent by a deity to destroy civilizations as an act of divine retribution and are featured in the folklore of many cultures.

Introduction

Definition

Floods are an overflow or inundation that comes from a river or other body of water and often threatens lives and properties. Therefore, any relatively high streamflow overtopping natural or artificial banks (e.g., levees) in any reach of a stream can be termed a flood. Floods can happen when the flow capacity of river channels, streams, or coastal areas is exceeded due to heavy, intense, or continuous rainfall or when the absorptive capacity of the soils is exceeded. This causes water in a river channel to overflow its banks onto adjoining land area, known as a floodplain. Floodplains are,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 649.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Abramovitz, J., 2001. Averting unnatural disasters. In: Brown L, Flavin C, French Hillary (eds.), State of the World 2001, World Watch Institute 2001. W.W. Norton, New York, pp 123–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adhikari, P., Hong, Y., Douglas, K. R., Kirschbaum, D. B., Gourley, J., Adler. R., Brakenridge, G. R., 2010. A digitized global flood inventory (1998–2008): compilations and preliminary results. Natural Hazards, 55, 405–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adikari, Y., and Yoshitani, J., 2009. Global Trends in Water-Related Disasters: An Insight for Policymakers, International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM). The United Nations World Water Development Report 3, Water in a Changing World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Associated Program on Flood Management (APFM), 2006. Environmental Aspects of Integrated Flood Management, APFM Technical Document No. 3, Flood Management Policy Series, World Meteorological Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bangladesh Urban Disaster Mitigation Project (BUDMP), undated. Hazard Mapping and Vulnerability Assessment for Flood Mitigation. Bangkok: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center/AUDMP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Begkhuntod, P., 2007. Application of satellite information for flood risk reduction in Mekong River Basin. Paper Presented in Regional Workshop on Innovative Approaches to Flood Risk Reduction in the Mekong Basin, October 17–19, 2007, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Available online from: http://www.aprsaf.org/.

  • Dixit, A., Adhikari, P., Bishangkhe, S. (eds.), 2004. Constructive Dialogue on Dams and Development in Nepal. IUCN–The World Conservation Union Nepal and Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, Kathmandu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixit, A., 2003. Floods and Vulnerability: Need to rethink flood. Natural Hazards, 28, 155–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database – Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. www.emdat.net

  • Hong, Y., Adler, R., 2008. Predicting global landslide spatiotemporal distribution: Integrating landslide susceptibility zoning techniques and real-time satellite rainfall estimates. International Journal of Sediment Research, 23(3), 249–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Y., Adler, R. F., Hossain, F., Curtis, S., Huffman, G. J., 2007. A first approach to global runoff simulation using satellite rainfall estimation. Water Resources Research43(8), W08502. doi:10.1029/2006WR005739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossain, F., Katiyar, N., Hong, Y., Wolf, A., 2007. The emerging role of satellite rainfall data in improving the hydro-political situation of flood monitoring in the under-developed regions of the world. Natural Hazards, 43, 199–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossain, F., Jeyachandran, I., Pielke, R., 2009. Have large dams altered extreme precipitation pattern? Eos, 90(48), 453–454, American Geophysical Union.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force, 1994. Report to the Administration Floodplain Management Task Force-Sharing the Challenge: Floodplain Management into the 21st Century, p.191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam, M. M., Sado, K. 2000. Flood hazard assessment in Bangladesh using NOAA AVHRR data with geographical information system. Hydrological Processes, 14, 605–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehner, B., Liermann, C. R., Revenga, C., Vorosmarty, C., Fekete, B., Crouzet, P., Doll, P., Endejan, M., Frenken, K., Magome, J., Nilsson, C., Robertson, J. C., Rodel, R.,Sindorf, N., and Wisser, D., 2011. Global Reservoir and Dam (GRanD) Database, Technical Documentation, Version 1.1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Hong, Y., Wang, J., Adler, R. F., Policelli, F.S., Habib, S., Irwn, D., Korme, T., and Okello, L., 2008. Evaluation of the real-time TRMM-based multi-satellite precipitation analysis for an operational flood prediction system in Nzoia Basin, Lake Victoria, Africa. Journal of Natural Hazards, doi: 10.1007/s11069-008-9324-5. (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra, D., 2003. Life Within the Kosi Embankments. Water Nepal (Eds. Ajaya Dixit), 10 (1), 277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perez, R. T., Espinueva, S. R., and Hernando, H., 2007. Community-based flood early warning systems. Briefing Paper: Workshop on The Science and Practice of Flood Disaster Management in Urbanizing Monsoon Asia/April 4–6, 2007, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinter, N., 2005. One step forward, two steps back on US floodplains. Science, 308, 207–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K., Petley, D. N., 2008. Environmental Hazards, Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster, 5th edn. Routledge, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tschoegl, L., Below R., and Guha-Sapir D., 2006. An analytical review of selected data sets on natural disasters and impacts. Paper Prepared for UNDP/CRED Workshop on Improving Compilation of Reliable Data on Disaster Occurrence and Impact, April 2–4, 2006, Bangkok, Thailand.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN/ISDR, 2004. Living with Risk: A Global Review of Disaster Reduction Initiatives. UN, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO, 2001. Guidelines on Non-Structural Measures in Urban Flood Management, Technical Documents in Hydrology, No. 50. Paris: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Word Commission on Dams (WCD), 2000. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision Making. Earthscan, London/Sterling, VA, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. M., 2000 The Nation’s Responses to Flood Disasters: A Historical Account. Association of State Floodplain Managers, Madison.

    Google Scholar 

Web sites

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, Center for Natural Hazards and Disaster Research, National Weather Center, University of Oklahoma, 120 David L. Boren Blvd, Norman, OK, 73072, USA

    Dr. Yang Hong

  2. Atmospheric Radar Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Pradeep Adhikari

  3. NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, OK, 73072, USA

    Jonathan J. Gourley

Authors
  1. Dr. Yang Hong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pradeep Adhikari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jonathan J. Gourley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yang Hong .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Hong, Y., Adhikari, P., Gourley, J.J. (2013). Flood Hazard and Disaster. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_138

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation