This study was undertaken in order to obtain an understanding of how Namibia in general, and the education sector in particular, deal with flood emergencies. The goal of the National Policy for Disaster Risk Management in Namibia (2009) is “to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in line with Namibia’s Vision 2030 through strengthening national capacities to significantly reduce disaster risk and built community resilience to disasters” (Republic of Namibia, 2009). This goal was the starting point for determining the extent to which the Ministry of Education complies with these national standards, and for gauging, in the light of responses to flood emergencies so far, the Ministry’s preparedness and response capacities, in line with international frameworks that Namibia has ratified. This qualitative study is situated within the theory of resilience, and sustainable resilience particularly. To obtain some of the information sought, a non-probability sampling method was used to ‘hand-pick’ subjects within the Ministry of Education to be interviewed at their respective locations, nationally and regionally. Five education officials who were intimately involved in past responses to flood emergencies were interviewed – three in Oshana and Ohangwena Regions, and two at Head Office in Windhoek – by means of a semi-structured interview. In addition, a literature review was conducted. The conclusions drawn from both the literature review and the information obtained from the respondents accord with the research problem identified: the Ministry of Education does not appear to be adequately prepared for, and does not assign the necessary priority to deal with, flood emergencies in particular. Possible recommendations for uptake within the Ministry of Education include: mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction at all decentralized levels; sensitizing all education officials, school community members and relevant stakeholders to policy frameworks and accountability structures to strengthen resilience within school communities; deeming costed contingency planning a priority, and hence strengthening links between decentralized regional structures; and continuously monitoring implementation of designed interventions.

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While there is growing evidence that shade/flood tolerance tradeoffs may be important in distributions of bottomland hardwood trees and indications that they should apply to herbs, no studies have definitively explored this possibility. Four years of field data following historic flooding were supplemented with a greenhouse experiment designed to identify interactions congruent with tradeoffs. Fifteen bottomland species were grown in two levels of water availability and three levels of shade over 10 weeks. Results indicate responses of Fimbristylis vahlii and Ammannia robusta are consistent with tradeoffs. Modification of classical allometric responses to shade by substrate saturation indicates a potential mechanism for the tradeoff in A. robusta. Responses indicating potential for increased susceptibility to physical flooding disturbance are also discussed.

This study explored and evaluated the communication strategies used by Fargo city leaders to persuade residents to work together as a community to withstand the repetitive flood hazards that threatened the city on a yearly basis, especially in 1997, 2006, and 2009. The literature review explored vigilance and complacency as well as strategies used by high-reliability organizations (HROs) to manage crises with little or no failures. Difficulties in processing multiple messages, desensitization, and fatigue were identified as barriers to remaining vigilant in the face of multiple crises. The communication strategies applied by the HROs to maintain vigilance were shown to be working; however, limited application of those HRO communication strategies to communities have been undertaken in the field. Individual, in-depth interview data were collected. The data revealed the emergence of risk fatigue as a result of multiple flood experiences; however, the strength of the communication strategies applied by city leaders made members of the community demonstrate resilience through their individual and collective actions to respond when called upon. The findings also revealed that all the HRO principles and tenets were identified from the evaluations of the residents to show that HRO principles can be transferred to communities to make them high reliability communities (HRCs).

The thesis deals with protection against water from rural areas with a focus on the protection of the village Chrudichromy. The chapters are structured so that outlined the general theory of flood protection and design protection in the cadastral Chrudichromy. The design consists of project protective reservoir.

The thesis is focused on analysis of damage extent of dry floors in case of a flood. In the first part it deals with problems of buildings´ stress factors in the point of view of building physics, floor composition and its connection to constructions of timber houses. In the second part it describes testing of three experimental floor samples during simulated flood. It examines and evaluates the behavior and the way of spreading of the leaking water and the effect of moisture on the materials.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides federally-backed insurance for properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas, yet many property owners do not enroll in the program. I compared flood losses and flood insurance enrollment for three Tennessee communities: Chattanooga, Elizabethton and Pigeon Forge, to investigate the relationship between flooding and NFIP enrollment. Normalized flood losses and insurance purchases were cross-correlated using lags of zero through nine years to investigate the relationship between flood losses in one year and NFIP enrollment in subsequent years. The correlation between flood losses and NFIP enrollment is significant (r = 0.39 and 0.42 respectively, p<0.05) in the year in which flood losses occurred for Chattanooga and Elizabethton. In Pigeon Forge, flood losses correlate to NFIP enrollment in the following year (r=0.43, p=0.02).

Flood-control reservoirs experience water level fluctuations that control survival of their biota. I explored diverse but related aspects of water-level management. Three frameworks were indentified for directing rule curve (i.e., daily targets for water levels) changes in flood-control reservoirs managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), with differing scopes and requirements. Framework choice depends on the reservoir’s primary authorization and magnitude of the contemplated change. Changes without congressional approval must be based on flood risk. Quantile regression was used to model a maximum water level with a user-specified level of risk. Because actions that request changes to water levels from natural resource professionals should have a sound ecological basis, I analyzed the relationships between water level fluctuations and vegetation in reservoirs. Remote sensing methods were used to calculate a greenness index from vegetation in the reservoir based on 14 years of satellite imagery and water levels.

The Community Rating System (CRS) was introduced to encourage flood mitigation and increase National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) participation via premium discounts. It is not clear, however, how additional mitigation and premium discounts affect NFIP participation and damage claims payments. We employ matching methods and log-linear regression framework to estimate the impact of CRS participation (versus non-participation) on outcomes. We also analyze the effect of individual CRS mitigation activities on outcomes. We do so while controlling for key geospatial, socioeconomic, and time effects. Results show a positive and significant effect of CRS participation on NFIP participation, but no significant effect on damage claims payments. Outreach and flood data maintenance activities have positive effect on NFIP participation while floodplain mapping and flood protection have negative effect. Flood protection information and storm water management have negative effect on damage claims payments while floodplain management planning and acquisition and relocation have positive effect.

Until the early twentieth century, Americans generally responded to the risk of floods by building protective levees. By the late 1800s, this approach was firmly entrenched in federal policy. Because of the singular focus on levees, floods actually became more severe, with a prime example occurring in 1927. The floods of 1927 demonstrated that levees-only was an untenable policy, but a new approach to managing flood risk took several decades to fully materialize. The geographer Gilbert Fowler White played a central role in developing the nation’s new approach to floods. In his 1945 doctoral dissertation, White laid out a multiaceted approach to flood risks that promoted the accommodation of nature at times, rather than relying exclusively on ever-greater works of engineering to address the risk of flood. The passage of the National Flood Insurance Act in 1968 demonstrates the acceptance of White’s ideas into federal policy.