Flash Flood Risk Management – A Training of Trainers ... - ReliefWeb

Day 3
Activity 10.3: Strategies for flash flood risk reduction
Time: 35 minutes
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Differentiate between the two types of strategies that can be used to reduce the risks associated
with a flash flood: strategies aimed at prevention and strategies aimed at mitigation.
Present the various preventive strategies for flash flood management.
Clarify the concept of watershed. Discuss the social and natural components of watersheds;
note that a watershed can consist of agricultural lands, forests, rangelands, barren lands, and/
or floodplains. Draw attention to the fact that better agricultural practices, some rearranging of the
agricultural calendar, reforestation, and regulation of grazing are some of the measures that can be
used to prevent flash floods. The watershed approach will be discussed in Session 12.
Open up a short question and answer session on possible mitigation strategies. Sum up the
participants’ feedback and present the entire range of possible mitigation strategies.
Note to the
trainer
When you discuss mitigation strategies, encourage the
participants to share their knowledge and experience in
reducing the intensity, frequency, and impact of flash floods
in their regions. Present the strategies of discharge reduction,
monitoring, warning, forecasting, and response system.
It is important to mention that warnings, forecasts, and the
methods used to communicate them to local communities should
be easy to understand. Warnings should be issued in the local
languages and dialects of the major linguistic groups who live in
the flood affected area.
Step 5
Step 6
Discuss the need for hydrometeorological monitoring, analysis, and forecasting. Explain how a
forecasting system works.
Discuss how warnings are disseminated. Discuss efficient ways of disseminating information (see
Box 9 in RM 10.3).
session 10
Step 7
Step 8
Discuss how flash flood affected communities and individuals can access financial support. Some
financial instruments available to cash-strapped flood victims are tax waivers, low interest loans (or
waiver of loan interest), and compensation for maintaining structural interventions. Financial support
can also be available sector-wise, such as from forest users’ or farmers’ groups.
Discuss how different groups respond to flash floods. Finally, discuss some of the challenges to flash
flood risk management (see Box 10 in RM 10.3).
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