Collection and arrangement of the historical records of climatic changes andenvironment evolution, especially in the aspect of calamities, are made on the history documents ofpast 1500 years about Hai'an region, J...Collection and arrangement of the historical records of climatic changes andenvironment evolution, especially in the aspect of calamities, are made on the history documents ofpast 1500 years about Hai'an region, Jiangsu Province. There existed two obvious flooding-droughtfrequently-occurring periods: one was from 1550 AD to 1850 AD and another was 1000 AD to 1200 AD.The period of 1550 AD to 1850 AD is interrupted by two relatively arid and cold climatic periods:one was from 1630 AD to 1700 AD and another was 1750 AD to 1820 AD. The main characteristic of thecalamity periods is that they occurred by turns, and sometimes, both drought and flooding occurredin the same year. The instability of the climatic changes in the Little Ice Age may be the mainreason of the frequently-occurring flooding and drought in Hai'an region. Research results also showthat the frequently-occurring periods of flooding and drought is in close relationship with thesolar activity, and therefore, occurrence of the flooding and drought may be in relation with theintensity of the solar activity. This hypothesis may need further study in the future.展开更多
A socio-economic data set on China＇s historical flood losses for the period 1984--2012 was compiled to analyze the exposed population, economy, and crop area as well as the vulnerabilities of the population and econo...A socio-economic data set on China＇s historical flood losses for the period 1984--2012 was compiled to analyze the exposed population, economy, and crop area as well as the vulnerabilities of the population and economy to floods. The results revealed that the exposed population was approximately 126 persons km-2 per year when taking China as a whole; in terms of the economy, potential losses due to floods were estimated to be approximately 1.49 million C/W4 km 2 and the crop area exposed to floods covered 153 million hm2 per year. China＇s total exposure to floods significantly increased over the analysis period. The areas that showed the higher exposure were mainly located along the east coast. The population＇s vulnerability to floods showed a significantly increasing trend, however, the economic vulnerability showed a decreasing trend. The populations and economies that were most vulnerable to floods were in Hunan, Anhui, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces. The municipalities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin showed the lowest vulnerabilities to floods.展开更多
The Chinese traditional cultures are es- sential part of the 5,000-year civilization of China.It has become more and more important how to pass on the quintessence of the Chinese traditional culture when the national ...The Chinese traditional cultures are es- sential part of the 5,000-year civilization of China.It has become more and more important how to pass on the quintessence of the Chinese traditional culture when the national economy is advancing by leap and bounds.展开更多
In India, floods remain a natural recurrent event of many major rivers of the sub-continent. Most frequently, it occurs during the ＂monsoon season＂ when precipitation remains very heavy and the natural watercourses ...In India, floods remain a natural recurrent event of many major rivers of the sub-continent. Most frequently, it occurs during the ＂monsoon season＂ when precipitation remains very heavy and the natural watercourses fail to accommodate excess water. The river Kosi, located in Bihar, India too bears a long history of annual floods and is often labeled as a ＂Sorrow of Bihar＂ due to its strange behavioural attributes and the extensive damage it causes as a result of severe flood inundation. The river Kosi is one of the megafans of the Gangetic plains. Geologic evidence demonstrates that the megafans are prone to devastating flood hazards. On August 18, 2008, the river Kosi burst through its banks to flow into a channel it had abandoned more than 200 years ago, drowning towns, numerous villages and rendering over a million homeless and many were reported to have died. The research is an attempt to reflect on the geographies of socio-economic impact of the Kosi flood, 2008. For this, the research uses a holistic approach. The findings suggest that the rescue and rehabilitation operation continue in the post flood region. However, operations were significantly delayed as the result of inept bureaucratic process and insufficient funding. The final sections draw together, the threads of analysis and suggest suitable measures, so that the floods of such magnitude can be managed better in near future.展开更多
This paper addresses the change of the river-lake relationship in the Huai River and its causes due to environmental change and human activities. A preliminary analysis is made from three aspects: (1) the natural geog...This paper addresses the change of the river-lake relationship in the Huai River and its causes due to environmental change and human activities. A preliminary analysis is made from three aspects: (1) the natural geographical change particularly captured by the Yellow River, (2) water conservancy project construction, and (3) socioeconomic development in the Huai River Basin. Key problems of changes in this river-lake relationship and the Huai River flood control are tackled, involving flood control and disaster alleviation ability of the Basin, engineering and non-engineering measurements applied to flood control and disaster mitigation, and water governance for adaptive management. Research shows that the Huai River is a rather complex one due to its complex geography with a hybrid wet and dry climate zoon, and higher population density. With the alternation of the river-lake relationship and socioeconomic development in the region, new problems keep arising, imposing new requirements on its sustainable water management. Thus, understanding the Huai River is a long and gradually improving process. Its future planning should keep absorbing new achievements of science and technology development, employing new technologies and methods, and gradually deepening our understanding of its fundamental principles. Water governance and adaptive water management will be new challenges and opportunities for the Basin in its river system change and flood control.展开更多
The heavy floods in the Taihu Basin showed increasing trend in recent years. In this work, a typical area in the northern Taihu Basin was selected for flood risk analysis and potential flood losses assessment. Human a...The heavy floods in the Taihu Basin showed increasing trend in recent years. In this work, a typical area in the northern Taihu Basin was selected for flood risk analysis and potential flood losses assessment. Human activities have strong impact on the study area’s flood situation (as affected by the polders built, deforestation, population increase, urbanization, etc.), and have made water level higher, flood duration shorter, and flood peaks sharper. Five years of different flood return periods [(1970), 5 (1962), 10 (1987), 20 (1954), 50 (1991)] were used to calculate the potential flood risk area and its losses. The potential flood risk map, economic losses, and flood-impacted population were also calculated. The study’s main conclusions are: 1) Human activities have strongly changed the natural flood situation in the study area, increasing runoff and flooding; 2) The flood risk area is closely related with the precipitation center; 3) Polder construction has successfully protected land from flood, shortened the flood duration, and elevated water level in rivers outside the polders; 4) Economic and social development have caused flood losses to increase in recent years.展开更多
We set forth the macroeconomics evaluation of floods （MEF） model, a new model to assess and evaluate the impact of floods on GNP growth. This model points to a new, more concrete approach to measure the economic imp...We set forth the macroeconomics evaluation of floods （MEF） model, a new model to assess and evaluate the impact of floods on GNP growth. This model points to a new, more concrete approach to measure the economic impact of floods. Up to now, the measurement has been subject to a great deal of uncertainty. The main contribution of the model is to significantly reduce this uncertainty by mea- suring the impact with four well-defined, economically intuitive indicators. To illuminate and demonstrate its promise, we employ the model to evaluate and analyze the impact of two major floods on the economy of the People＇s Republic of China. Our MEF-model analysis indicates that the floods of Zhangshu and Jiangxi in 2010 caused greater economic damage than the floods of Central South China in 1931. Going forward, MEF-model simulations are a valuable tool for estimating the effect of potential future floods in the PRC and elsewhere.展开更多
文摘Collection and arrangement of the historical records of climatic changes andenvironment evolution, especially in the aspect of calamities, are made on the history documents ofpast 1500 years about Hai'an region, Jiangsu Province. There existed two obvious flooding-droughtfrequently-occurring periods: one was from 1550 AD to 1850 AD and another was 1000 AD to 1200 AD.The period of 1550 AD to 1850 AD is interrupted by two relatively arid and cold climatic periods:one was from 1630 AD to 1700 AD and another was 1750 AD to 1820 AD. The main characteristic of thecalamity periods is that they occurred by turns, and sometimes, both drought and flooding occurredin the same year. The instability of the climatic changes in the Little Ice Age may be the mainreason of the frequently-occurring flooding and drought in Hai'an region. Research results also showthat the frequently-occurring periods of flooding and drought is in close relationship with thesolar activity, and therefore, occurrence of the flooding and drought may be in relation with theintensity of the solar activity. This hypothesis may need further study in the future.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(No.2012CB955903)
文摘A socio-economic data set on China＇s historical flood losses for the period 1984--2012 was compiled to analyze the exposed population, economy, and crop area as well as the vulnerabilities of the population and economy to floods. The results revealed that the exposed population was approximately 126 persons km-2 per year when taking China as a whole; in terms of the economy, potential losses due to floods were estimated to be approximately 1.49 million C/W4 km 2 and the crop area exposed to floods covered 153 million hm2 per year. China＇s total exposure to floods significantly increased over the analysis period. The areas that showed the higher exposure were mainly located along the east coast. The population＇s vulnerability to floods showed a significantly increasing trend, however, the economic vulnerability showed a decreasing trend. The populations and economies that were most vulnerable to floods were in Hunan, Anhui, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces. The municipalities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin showed the lowest vulnerabilities to floods.
文摘The Chinese traditional cultures are es- sential part of the 5,000-year civilization of China.It has become more and more important how to pass on the quintessence of the Chinese traditional culture when the national economy is advancing by leap and bounds.
文摘In India, floods remain a natural recurrent event of many major rivers of the sub-continent. Most frequently, it occurs during the ＂monsoon season＂ when precipitation remains very heavy and the natural watercourses fail to accommodate excess water. The river Kosi, located in Bihar, India too bears a long history of annual floods and is often labeled as a ＂Sorrow of Bihar＂ due to its strange behavioural attributes and the extensive damage it causes as a result of severe flood inundation. The river Kosi is one of the megafans of the Gangetic plains. Geologic evidence demonstrates that the megafans are prone to devastating flood hazards. On August 18, 2008, the river Kosi burst through its banks to flow into a channel it had abandoned more than 200 years ago, drowning towns, numerous villages and rendering over a million homeless and many were reported to have died. The research is an attempt to reflect on the geographies of socio-economic impact of the Kosi flood, 2008. For this, the research uses a holistic approach. The findings suggest that the rescue and rehabilitation operation continue in the post flood region. However, operations were significantly delayed as the result of inept bureaucratic process and insufficient funding. The final sections draw together, the threads of analysis and suggest suitable measures, so that the floods of such magnitude can be managed better in near future.
基金The National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB428406)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41071025/40730632) & National Key Water Project (No.2009ZX07210-006)
文摘This paper addresses the change of the river-lake relationship in the Huai River and its causes due to environmental change and human activities. A preliminary analysis is made from three aspects: (1) the natural geographical change particularly captured by the Yellow River, (2) water conservancy project construction, and (3) socioeconomic development in the Huai River Basin. Key problems of changes in this river-lake relationship and the Huai River flood control are tackled, involving flood control and disaster alleviation ability of the Basin, engineering and non-engineering measurements applied to flood control and disaster mitigation, and water governance for adaptive management. Research shows that the Huai River is a rather complex one due to its complex geography with a hybrid wet and dry climate zoon, and higher population density. With the alternation of the river-lake relationship and socioeconomic development in the region, new problems keep arising, imposing new requirements on its sustainable water management. Thus, understanding the Huai River is a long and gradually improving process. Its future planning should keep absorbing new achievements of science and technology development, employing new technologies and methods, and gradually deepening our understanding of its fundamental principles. Water governance and adaptive water management will be new challenges and opportunities for the Basin in its river system change and flood control.
文摘The heavy floods in the Taihu Basin showed increasing trend in recent years. In this work, a typical area in the northern Taihu Basin was selected for flood risk analysis and potential flood losses assessment. Human activities have strong impact on the study area’s flood situation (as affected by the polders built, deforestation, population increase, urbanization, etc.), and have made water level higher, flood duration shorter, and flood peaks sharper. Five years of different flood return periods [(1970), 5 (1962), 10 (1987), 20 (1954), 50 (1991)] were used to calculate the potential flood risk area and its losses. The potential flood risk map, economic losses, and flood-impacted population were also calculated. The study’s main conclusions are: 1) Human activities have strongly changed the natural flood situation in the study area, increasing runoff and flooding; 2) The flood risk area is closely related with the precipitation center; 3) Polder construction has successfully protected land from flood, shortened the flood duration, and elevated water level in rivers outside the polders; 4) Economic and social development have caused flood losses to increase in recent years.
文摘We set forth the macroeconomics evaluation of floods （MEF） model, a new model to assess and evaluate the impact of floods on GNP growth. This model points to a new, more concrete approach to measure the economic impact of floods. Up to now, the measurement has been subject to a great deal of uncertainty. The main contribution of the model is to significantly reduce this uncertainty by mea- suring the impact with four well-defined, economically intuitive indicators. To illuminate and demonstrate its promise, we employ the model to evaluate and analyze the impact of two major floods on the economy of the People＇s Republic of China. Our MEF-model analysis indicates that the floods of Zhangshu and Jiangxi in 2010 caused greater economic damage than the floods of Central South China in 1931. Going forward, MEF-model simulations are a valuable tool for estimating the effect of potential future floods in the PRC and elsewhere.
