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Assessing Dynamics Of Rural Urban Linkages And Their Influence On Rural Vulnerability To Extreme Flood Events
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Book Synopsis Assessing Dynamics of Rural-urban Linkages and Their Influence on Rural Vulnerability to Extreme Flood Events by : Ali Jamshed
Download or read book Assessing Dynamics of Rural-urban Linkages and Their Influence on Rural Vulnerability to Extreme Flood Events written by Ali Jamshed and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Climate Change, Hazards and Adaptation Options by : Walter Leal Filho
Download or read book Climate Change, Hazards and Adaptation Options written by Walter Leal Filho and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-14 with total page 1066 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the issue of climate change risks and hazards holistically. Climate change adaptation aims at managing climate risks and hazards to an acceptable level, taking advantage of any positive opportunities that may arise. At the same time, developing suitable responses to hazards for communities and users of climate services is important in ensuring the success of adaptation measures. But despite this, knowledge about adaptation options, including possible actions that can be implemented to improve adaptation and reduce the impacts of climate change hazards, is still limited. Addressing this need, the book presents studies and research findings and offers a catalogue of potential adaptation options that can be explored. It also includes case studies providing illustrative and inspiring examples of how we can adapt to a changing climate.
Author :National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Publisher :National Academies Press ISBN 13 :0309489644 Total Pages :101 pages Book Rating :4.3/5 (94 download)
Book Synopsis Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Download or read book Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-03-29 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flooding is the natural hazard with the greatest economic and social impact in the United States, and these impacts are becoming more severe over time. Catastrophic flooding from recent hurricanes, including Superstorm Sandy in New York (2012) and Hurricane Harvey in Houston (2017), caused billions of dollars in property damage, adversely affected millions of people, and damaged the economic well-being of major metropolitan areas. Flooding takes a heavy toll even in years without a named storm or event. Major freshwater flood events from 2004 to 2014 cost an average of $9 billion in direct damage and 71 lives annually. These figures do not include the cumulative costs of frequent, small floods, which can be similar to those of infrequent extreme floods. Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States contributes to existing knowledge by examining real-world examples in specific metropolitan areas. This report identifies commonalities and variances among the case study metropolitan areas in terms of causes, adverse impacts, unexpected problems in recovery, or effective mitigation strategies, as well as key themes of urban flooding. It also relates, as appropriate, causes and actions of urban flooding to existing federal resources or policies.
Author :Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Publisher :Cambridge University Press ISBN 13 :1107025060 Total Pages :593 pages Book Rating :4.1/5 (7 download)
Book Synopsis Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation by : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Download or read book Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-28 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Book Synopsis Spatial Modelling of Flood Risk and Flood Hazards by : Biswajeet Pradhan
Download or read book Spatial Modelling of Flood Risk and Flood Hazards written by Biswajeet Pradhan and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-04-06 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Floods and flash floods with hydro-meteorological and tropical cyclones are the some of the most devastating natural disasters causing massive damages to natural and man-made features. Flood hazards are a major threat to human life, properties (agricultural area, yield production, building and homes) and infrastructures (bridges, roads, railways, urban infrastructures, etc). Flood hazards susceptibility mapping (risk assessment) and modelling is an essential step for early warning systems, emergency services, prevention and mitigation of future environmental and social hazards and implementation of risk management strategies. Due to the lack of proper information, technology-based policies and strategies, mapping and modelling can often not be implemented to the best possible level. Geo-spatial techniques have enjoyed rising interest in recent decades among the earth environmental and social sciences research communities for their powerful ability to solve and understand various complex problems and develop novel approaches toward sustainable earth and human society. By linking geo-spatial computational intelligence techniques with societal and environmental-oriented problems, this book demonstrates geospatial technology approaches to data mining techniques, data analysis, modelling, risk assessment and visualization and management strategies in different aspects of flood hazards. We believe that a diverse group of academics, scientists, geographers, hydrologist, remote sensing and GIS expertise, environmentalists, meteorologists and computing experts with a common interest in geospatial sciences within the earth environmental sciences and humanistic and social sciences will find this book to be of great value.
Book Synopsis Living with Floods in a Mobile Southeast Asia by : Carl Middleton
Download or read book Living with Floods in a Mobile Southeast Asia written by Carl Middleton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between migration, vulnerability, resilience and social justice associated with flooding across diverse environmental, social and policy contexts in Southeast Asia. It challenges simple analyses of flooding as a singular driver of migration, and instead considers the ways in which floods figure in migration-based livelihoods and amongst already mobile populations. The book develops a conceptual framework based on a ‘mobile political ecology’ in which particular attention is paid to the multidimensionality, temporalities and geographies of vulnerability. Rather than simply emphasising the capacities (or lack thereof) of individuals and households, the focus is on identifying factors that instigate, manage and perpetuate vulnerable populations and places: these include the sociopolitical dynamics of floods, flood hazards and risky environments, migration and migrant-based livelihoods and the policy environments through which all of these take shape. The book is organised around a series of eight empirical urban and rural case studies from countries in Southeast Asia, where lives are marked by mobility and by floods associated with the region’s monsoonal climate. The concluding chapter synthesises the insights of the case studies, and suggests future policy directions. Together, the chapters highlight critical policy questions around the governance of migration, institutionalised disaster response strategies and broader development agendas.
Book Synopsis Community perspectives of flood risk and social vulnerability reduction by : Robert M. Stewart
Download or read book Community perspectives of flood risk and social vulnerability reduction written by Robert M. Stewart and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been a decade since the 1997 Red River Flood of the Century in Manitoba Canada. Since the event federal, provincial and local efforts have improved emergency management procedures, structural and non-structural flood mitigation, and the public's awareness of response and recovery plans. They have significantly reduced the exposure of the regional population to similar large-scale flood events. However, there has been an institutional failure to address social vulnerability that affects community resilience and the capacity to cope with uncertainty in the floodplain. In these contexts the purpose of this study was to explore community-based risk management approaches to reducing social vulnerability through planning and communication linkages (to raise public awareness and mobilize action), bottom-up activity (experience, involvement, and application) and floodplain management partnerships. The objectives of the study were to: 1) identify residual floodplain issues that affect risk acceptance and partnership development among floodplain stakeholders; 2) explain the processes of social vulnerability that affect community capacity to cope with flood risk in the Red River Basin; 3) assess social vulnerability at the community level; and, 4) develop policy recommendations and community-based plans to reduce social vulnerability. A goal of the research was to develop a new conceptual framework of social vulnerability in the context of flooding and the floodplain environment. Using interviews, surveys and a local decision-makers' forum, the methodological approach contributed to participatory action research by engaging floodplain stakeholders in identifying social vulnerability and developing operational tools for anticipatory risk management. The findings indicate that residents and municipal managers have a good deal of knowledge and experience regarding local risk and hazards in the floodplain and know how to reduce vulnerable conditions at the household and community levels. It is the external pressures from regional floodplain policy and development that restricts local action and empowerment, and reduces the public's tolerance for risk management initiatives and partnership development. Significant variations in residents' perceptions of risk and what makes them vulnerable in the floodplain have developed between urban and rural communities, between geographical locations in the rural setting (i.e. private farm and river lots and rural communities), and among different socio-economic groups (i.e. age, income and employment characterisitics). Policy recommendations highlight the need for local-level information generation and communication processes to identify and assess vulnerable pathways to a range of ongoing risks. Local action can first be initiated through regular community involvement in water resource conservation initiatives and sustainable planning opportunities that strengthen social networks and enhance rural representation in regional floodplain management and decision-making. Provincial policy is needed to develop broad standards for the social dimensions of vulnerability in the floodplain, and to provide opportunities to mediate existing management conflicts that hinder partnership development and action between communities and provincial agencies.
Book Synopsis Advances in Urban Flood Management by : Richard Ashley
Download or read book Advances in Urban Flood Management written by Richard Ashley and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2007-02 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the effects of global climate change is the increasing variability of extreme flood events and cyclones. Current measures to mitigate flood impacts, particularly in the urban environment, are based on previously-planned flood risk intervals and no longer provide sufficient protection. Being prepared for unexpected changes and extreme flood events asks for a paradigm shift in current strategies to avoid and manage flood disasters. In order to stem the increasing impact of urban floods, a major rethink of current planning and flood management policies and practice is required, taking into account different spatial and temporal scales. This book addresses a broad spectrum of relevant issues in the emerging field of urban flood management. It may act as a stimulus for further research and development in urban flood management while informing and engaging stakeholders in the promotion of integrated and cooperative approaches in water management. An interdisciplinary approach which will be of interest to all those who are active in water, risk and urban management.
Book Synopsis Recent Advances in the Assessment of Flood Risk in Urban Areas by : Tiago Miguel Ferreira
Download or read book Recent Advances in the Assessment of Flood Risk in Urban Areas written by Tiago Miguel Ferreira and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The adverse effects of flood disasters in urban areas have been increasing in severity and extent over the past years. The amount of loss resulting from these events is also increasing exponentially, particularly in highly urbanised urban areas, where the effects of intensive land use and climate change are particularly extreme-all despite that our scientific knowledge, technical competence, and computational capacity to develop highly sophisticated and accurate forecasting and simulation models are higher than ever, as is our capacity to map and analyse flood-related data. In order to tackle this global issue, it is fundamental to keep on promoting and developing fundamental and applied research that allows the better targeting of interventions to improve resilience, reduce vulnerability, and enhance recovery as well as assisting decision-makers in delivering more effective flood risk-reduction policies. This book aims to contribute to this goal by providing a space in which to share and discuss recent studies and state-of- the-art methodologies focused on the assessment and mitigation of flood risk in urban areas. It includes nine high-quality chapters authored by eminent scholars who had the tremendous generosity to join me in this editorial project. The range of topics covered by these nine studies is extraordinarily vast, reflecting the complexity of the current challenges associated with the topic.
Book Synopsis Rural Land Management Impacts on Catchment Scale Flood Risk by : Ian Pattison
Download or read book Rural Land Management Impacts on Catchment Scale Flood Risk written by Ian Pattison and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis examines the relationship between rural land management and downstream flood risk. The recent increase in flood frequency and magnitude has been hypothesised to have been caused by either climate change or land management. The theoretical basis for why these factors might increase flood risk is well known, but showing their impact on downstream flood risk remains a challenge. Field scale studies have found that changing land management practices does affect local runoff and streamflow. Upscaling these effects to the catchment scale continues to be problematic, both conceptually and, more importantly, methodologically. Conceptually, upscaling is critical. As land management may impact upon the relative timing as well as the magnitude of runoff, any changes in land management practice may lead to changes in the synchronisation of tributaries flows, either reducing or increasing downstream flood risk. Methodologically, understanding this effect requires capturing the spatial resolution associated with field-scale hydrological processes simultaneously with the upscaling of these processes to the downstream locations where flood risk is of concern. Most approaches to this problem aim to upscale from individual grid cells to whole catchments, something that restricts the complexity of possible process representation, produces models that may not be parsimonious with the data needed to calibrate them and, faced with data uncertainties, provides computational limitations on the extent to which model uncertainty can be fully explored. Rather than upscaling to problems of concern, this thesis seeks to downscale from locations of known flood risk, as a means of identifying where land use management changes might be beneficial and then uses numerical modelling to identify the kinds of management changes required in those downscaled locations. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to test an approach to understanding the impacts of rural land management upon flood risk based upon catchment-to-source downscaling. This thesis uses the case study of the River Eden catchment (2400 km2) as a test case. Firstly the downstream flood risk problem was assessed using both gauged data and documentary evidence to investigate the historical flood record. This found the last decade does not differ significantly from previous flood rich periods, which were defined as 1) 1873-1904; 2) 1923-1933; and 3) 1994-present. Second, the potential causes of floods within the catchment were investigated; firstly climate variability was assessed using Lamb weather types, which found that five weather types were responsible for causing 90% of the floods in the last 30 years. Third, spatial downscaling of catchment-scale flood risk was undertaken using two methods; databased statistical analysis; and hydraulic modelling. Both approaches consider the magnitudes and the timing of the flows from each major sub-catchment. The statistical approach involved a principal components analysis to simplify the complex subcatchment interactions and a stepwise regression to predict downstream flood risk. The hydraulic modelling approach used iSIS-Flow to undertake a series of numerical experiments, where the input hydrographs from each tributary were shifted individually and the effect on downstream peak stage assessed. Both these approaches found that the Upper Eden and Eamont sub-catchments were the most important in explaining downstream flood risk. The Eamont sub-catchment was chosen for future analysis as:(1) it was shown to have a significant impact on downstream flood risk; and (2) it had range of data and information needed for modelling land use changes. The second part of this thesis explored the land management scenarios that could be used to reduce flood risk at the catchment scale. The scenarios to be tested were determined through a stakeholder participation approach, whereby workshops were held to brainstorm and prioritise land management options, and then to identify specific locations within the Eamont sub-catchment where they could tested. There were two main types of land management scenarios chosen: (1) landscape-scale changes, including afforestation and compaction; and (2) channel modification and floodplain storage scenarios, including flood bank removal and wet woodland creation. The hydrological model CRUM3 was used to test the catchment scale land use changes, while the hydraulic model iSIS-Flow was used to test the channel and floodplain scenarios. It was found that through changing the whole of a small sub-catchment(Dacre Beck), the scenarios of reducing compaction and arabilisation could reduce catchment scale (2400 km2) flood risk by up to 3.5% for a 1 in 175 year flood event(January 2005). Changing localised floodplain roughness reduced sub-catchment (Lowther) peak stage by up to 0.134 m. This impact diminished to hardly any effect on peak flow magnitudes at the sub-catchment scale (Eamont). However, these scenarios caused a delay of the flood peak by up to 5 hours at the sub-catchment scale, which has been found to reduce peak stage at Carlisle by between 0.167 m to 0.232 m, corresponding to a 5.8% decrease in peak discharge. A key conclusion is that land management practices have been shown to have an effect on catchment scale flooding, even for extreme flood events. However, the effect of land management scenarios are both spatially and temporally dependent i.e. the same land management practice has different effects depending on where it is implemented, and when implemented in the same location has different effects on different flood events.
Book Synopsis Estimating the Physical Exposure of Human Population and Agriculture to In-land Flooding at Regional and Global Scales by : Rachel Dryden
Download or read book Estimating the Physical Exposure of Human Population and Agriculture to In-land Flooding at Regional and Global Scales written by Rachel Dryden and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Extreme flood events stand amongst the most frequent, widespread, and devastating natural phenomena that threaten economic and social viability. Flood damage is largely dependent on both impact factors - such as water depth and area-of-inundation - and resistance factors, like flood warning and preparedness. In-land flood protection is approached through structural and non-structural measures under the wider objective of effective and efficient river management. Risk identification is vital in the design, planning, and implementation of flood-resistant action for both policymakers and individual stakeholders. This thesis employs a unique approach to global flood-risk by first estimating in-land flood exposure, which comprises only a single pillar of overall risk, followed by a critical analysis of current policy failings and recommendations to combat the growing concerns of future flood-risk amidst climate and environmental change. Estimating the populations, urban extents, and agricultural lands exposed to in-land flooding is a crucial first-step in characterizing overall risk and informing flood mitigation policy.First, this assessment quantifies the populations, urban extents, and agricultural lands exposed to in-land flooding across spatial and temporal scales using high-resolution flood extent data. An estimated 2.4 billion people may be exposed to in-land flooding on a global scale, representing 43 percent of the global urban population and 37 percent of the global rural population. Both globally and for regional case studies in Central and South America (collectively Latin America), Africa, and Asia, urban populations may face a larger relative threat to in-land flooding than their rural counterparts. This study also provides a first-estimation of the proportion of agriculture exposed to in-land flooding, which may be exacerbated by climate change, using crop and pastureland data. An estimated 20 percent of the world's cropland occupies floodplains, and these patterns shift for each of the regional analyses. Based on a derived flood sensitivity metric, countries such as Colombia and coastal cities in Africa could face higher flood-risk in the future. This thesis serves as an important addition to the risk assessment field and offers, in a separate chapter, a unique policy perspective to situate the results within the broader context of disaster risk reduction." --
Book Synopsis Floods in a Megacity by : Ashraf Dewan
Download or read book Floods in a Megacity written by Ashraf Dewan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-02-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flooding is one of the most devastating natural hazards in the world. Available records suggest that both flood frequency and severity are on the rise and this is likely to worsen in the context of climate change. As population, infrastructure and poverty grow rapidly in developing countries, particularly in urban agglomerations of 10 million people or more, floods could cause widespread devastation, economic damage and loss of life. Assessment of vulnerability and risk from naturally occurring phenomena is therefore imperative in order to achieve urban sustainability. This book uses geospatial techniques to evaluate hazards, risk and vulnerability at a metropolitan scale in a data-scarce country. An empirical study was performed using remote sensing, GIS and census data. This research offers a new approach to mapping population, infrastructures and communities at risk which can greatly contribute to the deeper understanding of flood disasters in a rapidly expanding megacity. Examples shown in this book are from Dhaka Megacity, however, the techniques and methods can easily be implemented in medium to large cities of similar characteristics. The book is essential reading for hazard researchers, geospatial scientists, disaster management professionals, geographers, urban planners, and social scientists. Ashraf M. Dewan is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Spatial Sciences at Curtin University, Western Australia (on leave from his substantive position as Associate Professor in the Geography & Environment Department at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh).
Author :Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Publisher :Cambridge University Press ISBN 13 :9781009157971 Total Pages :755 pages Book Rating :4.1/5 (579 download)
Book Synopsis The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate by : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Download or read book The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-04-30 with total page 755 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Book Synopsis Climate Change and Cities by : Cynthia Rosenzweig
Download or read book Climate Change and Cities written by Cynthia Rosenzweig and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-29 with total page 855 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate Change and Cities bridges science-to-action for climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in cities around the world.
Download or read book At Risk written by Piers Blaikie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-01-21 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The term 'natural disaster' is often used to refer to natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods. However, the phrase 'natural disaster' suggests an uncritical acceptance of a deeply engrained ideological and cultural myth. At Risk questions this myth and argues that extreme natural events are not disasters until a vulnerable group of people is exposed. The updated new edition confronts a further ten years of ever more expensive and deadly disasters and discusses disaster not as an aberration, but as a signal failure of mainstream 'development'. Two analytical models are provided as tools for understanding vulnerability. One links remote and distant 'root causes' to 'unsafe conditions' in a 'progression of vulnerability'. The other uses the concepts of 'access' and 'livelihood' to understand why some households are more vulnerable than others. Examining key natural events and incorporating strategies to create a safer world, this revised edition is an important resource for those involved in the fields of environment and development studies.
Author :Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group II. Publisher :Cambridge University Press ISBN 13 :9780521634557 Total Pages :532 pages Book Rating :4.6/5 (345 download)
Book Synopsis The Regional Impacts of Climate Change by : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group II.
Download or read book The Regional Impacts of Climate Change written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group II. and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Book Synopsis The Social Construction of Vulnerability to Flooding by : Monica (Toni) Morris-Oswald
Download or read book The Social Construction of Vulnerability to Flooding written by Monica (Toni) Morris-Oswald and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last two decades there have been efforts to advance human understanding of social sources of flood vulnerability in an attempt to reduce the high social and material costs of flood events. This study explored social sources of vulnerability by examining both community and institutional values and perspectives as they relate to flood risk and mitigation in the Red Rivel Basin, Manitoba, Canada. To that end, the following objectives were considered: - To review local mitigation decision-making processes, and describe the relative emphasis on structural and non-structural measures in the Red River Basin - To explore identified mitigation activities and decision-ranking processes within the context of vulnerability reduction approaches to hazard management - To describe community and institutional perspectives, values, and perceptions of vulnerability, and determine their roles in creating social vulnerability - To recommend how to counter some of the key sources of social vulnerability in the Red River Basin based on the findings from this research The case study research was conducted in two small rural communities in the southetn part of the Manitoba portion of the Red River Basin; the communities were Ste. Agathe and Emerson, Manitoba. Ste. Agathe is a small francophone town located 40 kilometers south of the City of Winnipeg. It severely flooded in the Red River flood of 1997. Emerson is located at the Canadian-American border, 90 kilometers south of Winnipeg. It was spared inundation in 1997 due to the ring dike that surrounds the town. Qualitative methods were used for data collection at the individual and community level. A community survey was conducted in both communities on flood-related issues, community organization and decision-making. A smaller group of participants from each community participated in a visual research method in which they were asked to photograph objects/ places / people which symbolized community values / priorities or had special meaning in the context of living with the ongoing flood threat. Individual interviews were held with each photography participant, and focus groups were held within the two communities to validate findings related to community perspectives and flood risk management. Qualitative methods were also used to identify institutional values and norms related to flood management decision-making in the Red River Basin. These methods including qualitative analysis of documents related to flood risk management, and key informant interviews with representatives of agencies and institutions engaged in flood management issues in Manitoba. ATLAS.ti (2000) qualitative software was used to facilitate data analysis. Vulnerability frameworks were applied to interpret community and institutional research findings and to identify key social, political, and economic factors that influence flood vulnerability and the quality of mitigation decisons. An adapation of the Pressure and Release model (PAR) of disaster (Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon, and Davis, 2004; Blaikie, Cannon, Davis, and Wisner, 1994) was developed using identified contributors to vulnerability in this context. The study revealed that vulnerability in the Red River Basin is in part the result of the inadequate interactions between communities and decision-making authorities with regard to flood risk management, a dominance of institutional responses to flood, and a dependence upon technocratic approaches in assessing and responding to flood risk. Furthermore, identified barriers to vulnerability reduction included a lack of political leadership and commitment to flood vulnerability reduction over the long term, and entrenched community and institutional beliefs about the respective roles of senior government and communities in flood mitigation which fail to promote resilient communities. Four recommendations were made on how to enhance capacities to reduce flood vulnerability in this context. They included: address weaknesses in public perception of flood risk and the role of stakeholders in reducing vulnerability; expand the use of nonstructural measures through improved leadership and use of more diverse tools for economic and social assessment of mitigation alternatives; develop policies to enhance a proactive role for government in vulnerability reduction and to provide incentives to local communities to take responsibility for the assessment and addressing of local vulnerabilities, and; ensure long...
