Among the natural disasters, floods
especially continue to be most threatening to social security and
economic development in the world and particularly Asia and the
Pacific. In spite of the previous regional and national efforts, flood
disasters have continued to affect the region seriously, particularly
during the last few years.
To elucidate a few examples: In
Bangladesh, the 1991 cyclone and storm surge event killed 140,000
people, whilst the flood of 1998 affected the lives of 25 million
people. The total damage by the 1995 flood in Bangladesh was estimated
at US$ 2 billion, equivalent to more than 5 per cent of the gross
domestic product (GDP) of that country.
Also in 1995, various provinces of
China were affected by extensive floods during the month of July,
affecting 220 million persons, taking 2,300 lives and causing a total
loss of US$ 12.5 billion. Meanwhile, the flood in 1998 in China was
the most severe one in the past 44 years. According to governmental
estimates, 223 million people - one fifth of China's population were
affected, 3,004 people died and 15 million were made homeless. The
direct economic damage of 1998 flood in China was estimated at over
US$ 20 billion out of the total damage of over US$23 billion caused by
the 1998 floods in the region. Lately, the floods have caused severe
damage in the lower Mekong River Basin in 2000.
As such, ESCAP continues to attach
priority to promoting closer cooperation in flood control and
management in the region. It facilitates the exchange of experiences
and successful practices among the various countries.
Major activities
of the Water and Mineral Resources Section in Flood Impact Mitigation
are:
-
Training
workshop and flood mitigation in Ho Chi Minh City, 26-29
March 2001 at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development of Viet Nam. Its aim is to to learn from regional
experiences to assist in the formulation of a strategy for flood
impact mitigation. The workshop will be conducted by an ESCAP
specialist, four national experts on flood management from Viet Nam
as well as invited experts from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and the MRC
Secretariat.
-
Implementation of the Phase II of the Dutch funded project on
Regional Cooperation in Flood Control and Management in Asia and
the Pacific. This programme includes organizing national
workshops in India, China, Indonesia and Viet Nam, followed by a
regional workshop to be held in November 2001 on "Strengthening
Capacity in Participatory Planning and Management for Flood
Mitigation and Preparedness in Large River Basins.
-
Assisting
the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee in its special review to
further strengthen cooperation in the hydrological component of the
programme.
-
Organizing an international flood conference with UN/DESA
(Department of Economic Social Affairs) to look at the preparedness
for flood mitigation from a regional perspective.
A few pictures illustrating the impacts
of floods:
A typical scene of urban flooding in Thailand
Flooding of historical sites at Ayuthaya in the
lower Chao Phraya River basin
A typical turbulent flood flow in urban areas
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