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Photo:
Xinhua/Sunil Sharma, July 12, 2018
(A flooded street
in Bhaktapur, Nepal)
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1. Floods are natural and seasonal phenomena that can be mitigated but not completely avoided.
2. Urbanization (city) changes landscape patterns, aggravating floods by increasing surface runoff so that floods become greater in magnitude and time of occurrence is more frequent.
3. Traditionally, floods are being dealt with effective canalization (focus on drainage net) to transfer waters downstream with no major consequences.
4. Urbanization turns watershed areas impermeable so, effective implementation of intensive structural flood control measures including drains construction, re-engineering and the dredging of old canals, among others are required.
5. High implementation cost of structural flood control measures and the competing demand for limited resources are the reason for inadequate structural flood control measures, and result in flood damage even with the low rainfall.
6. Unlike structural works that physically act on the flood phenomena, nonstructural measures for flood control are floodplain management and regulation, master planning, flood forecasting and warning, flood proofing etc.
7. Uncontrolled urbanization has associated challenges, particularly building designs and mode of construction (concrete flooring or landscaping their yards using pavement/engineering blocks), causes increment of surface runoff leading to flood chaos.
8. Tree leaves can act as canopies to reduce the intensity of rain and floods but most urban residents have replaced trees with summer-huts or other concrete structure.
9. Flooding occurs everywhere with impact varying from place to place, depending on the mitigation measures used i.e. solution to the flood depends on the effective implementation of flood control measures.
10.Architects, engineers, planners of government and its agencies have greater responsibility of protecting lives and property by providing the resources for the implementation of the essential flood control measures. Moreover, experts should be given the free-hand, devoid of political interference, to enforce the laws, policies and regulations governing the built environment.
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