Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the fairest (Johnson 2007b), but the available re-
search shows that the poor and disadvantaged suf-
fer most in events such as floods (Walker 2003),
owing to their lack of savings, insurance and the
wherewithal or knowledge as to how to protect
themselves.
But modern flood risk management is people-
focused. Considerable emphasis is now placed
on stakeholder attitudes and aspirations, with
government and state agencies alike seeking
public engagement in the decisions that affect
them, decisions that require behavioural change
for effective implementation (not something
that is generally needed when tackling floods
with concrete walls but that is needed when
seeking an efficient public response to a flood
warning).
However, it remains true that public attitudes
are fickle and risk remains very poorly understood
(Faulkner et al. 2007). Immediately after a flood
the demands are for 'action', and for blame to be
accepted by those 'in charge'. Five years later the
public is antagonistic when those very same peo-
ple 'in charge' produce designs for a flood defence
scheme, or promote tighter spatial planning rules,
which might restrict regenerative developments
at a time when such economic revival is a local
imperative. Memories are short, denial is a com-
mon theme, and the public has many other issues
about which to worry. Conflict is almost inevita-
ble, with all the further uncertainty that this is
likely to bring.
mean that all losses are covered, because many of
those insured are underinsured and, of course,
none of the so-called 'intangible' losses from
floods (Tapsell 2002) are covered at all. But it does
mean that insurance is widespread. Based on the
government's Household Expenditure Survey and
evidence from its own members, the Association
of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that the take-up
of insurance in the UK is such that 93% of all
homeowners have buildings insurance cover, al-
though this falls to 85% of the poorest 10% of
households purchasing their own home (where
this insurance is a standard condition of a UK
mortgage). Some 75%of all households have home
contents insurance, although half of the poorest
10% of households do not have this cover.
But the provision of flood insurance into the
future is uncertain (Arnell 2000). Previous agree-
ments between the Association of British Insurers
and the government, designed to promote flood
insurance, have been renegotiated (Green et al.
2004; Treby et al. 2006). There is a distinct risk
that insurance companies may withdraw from
the market if government cannot continue its
level of investment in flood defence projects
(ABI 2005).
'Social' issues
The social effects and loss of life in floods also
remain uncertain, despite considerable research
effort over the last decade (Tapsell et al. 2002).
Whilst emergency response arrangements
(Penning-Rowsell and Wilson 2006) have im-
proved massively in this time (starting with poor
efforts in the UK in 1998 and developing into a
much better performance through to the 2009
floods), nevertheless the social impacts of floods
in traumatizing people and communities con-
tinues. Despite research into the causes of deaths
in floods (Penning-Rowsell 2005; Jonkman and
Penning-Rowsell 2008), loss of life in major UK
floods remains a distinct likelihood. Disaster sce-
narios also remain a distinct possibility, especially
in our large metropolitan areas (Parker and Pen-
ning-Rowsell 2005). There is a debate to be had
about what flood risk management measures are
A Blueprint for Modern Flood
Risk Management
Understanding of the process of flood risk man-
agement continues to evolve. The contributions
in this volume represent various dimensions of the
state of the art. Yet it would misunderstand the
nature of flood riskmanagement if it were taken to
be a fragmented set of techniques - far from it,
flood risk management entails a systems perspec-
tive, which is itself embedded within the broader
perspectives of sustainable development. Here we
highlight a number of pertinent aspects not only of
