Publisher's Synopsis
Floods are natural events, but when they impact on human environments, they turn into disasters which disrupt society. The last decades have seen an alarming increase of major floodings and associated damage on every continent. This is caused by a combination of population growth and settlement in flood prone areas, climate change and disrupted hydrological cycles. There is now an urgency regarding the exchange of information on developments and experiences in research, policy and management. The 3rd International Symposium on Flood Defence (ISFD3) presents new developments in: sciences (hydrology, ecology, flood modelling and forecasting, information management and GIS-based decision support systems); frameworks (institutional and organisational, basin-wide flood management); policy-making and implementation (government strategies and approaches, public awareness and participation, new concepts such as risk management in relation to climate change); measures and solutions (structural and non-structural measures, spatial planning. Case studies illustrate specific experiences and practices in flood control situations, for example, flooding in urban areas. These Symposium Papers include about 125 selected papers, as presented during the ISFD3. They present the state-of-the-art with respect to knowledge of flooding and experiences with floods, with particular attention to rivers, flash floods and floods due to excessive rainfall and inadequate drainage. In addition characteristic data on river floods and flooding are presented. As a whole this publication reflects a world wide change in strategy: from Flood Defence towards Flood Management. Floods, from Defence to Management is of special interest to researchers, scientists, consultants, manufacturers, donor agencies and government bodies involved in policy making and flood management.
