Why Do Flood Disasters Occur?
Excessive rainfall, rapid melting of accumulated snow, or rising sea levels due to storms cause floods. Changing weather patterns due to climate change make predicting floods, like any weather-related natural disaster, difficult.
Humanity cannot currently stop natural disasters like floods with today’s technology. However, many solutions are available to minimize flood damage.
For example, avoiding construction in areas with a high risk of flooding, planning infrastructure based on regional risk factors, and preserving the natural structure of riverbeds are some measures that can be taken. In cases where relocation is not feasible, using early warning systems can minimize property and casualty losses.
Meteorology plays a crucial role in both solutions. Past meteorological data can be used to assess the feasibility of projects based on regional risk factors. Timely and reliable weather forecasts are crucial for early warning systems.
Damages Caused by Floods
Flood disasters lead to the deaths of an average of 100 people annually in the United States. Of course, the magnitude of the loss depends on the severity of the flood and the population in the area. For example, in 1931, one of the most severe floods in history occurred in the Wuhan region of China, resulting in the loss of 4 million lives.
In addition to the security threat posed by floods, they can also cause significant financial damage to many people. In the United States, an average homeowner spends $3,300 out of pocket to repair their home after a flood. Apart from the individual damage caused by floods, they also cause short and long-term damage to many sectors.
- In September 2023, within just 12 days, ten countries experienced severe flooding due to typhoons, hurricanes, and damaged dams.
- Storms in Europe, especially Storm Daniel, resulted in excessive rainfall in the Mediterranean, with Greece experiencing record-breaking rainfall, with 740 mm of rain falling in 24 hours, leading to serious flooding in the region.
- On February 13, 2024, it was observed that 297 mm of rain fell within 24 hours at the meteorological station in the Kepez region of Antalya, and one person lost their life.
The Impact of Climate Change on Floods
Rising temperatures accelerate the melting of glaciers and ice caps, raising sea levels and contributing to more frequent coastal floods. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, increasing the likelihood of rainfall exceeding drainage capacity. Additionally, climate change can alter weather patterns, bringing shorter periods of more intense rainfall, such as monsoons and tropical storms.
Which Sectors are at Risk from Floods?
Infrastructure and Operations
Flooding has widespread and detrimental effects on the infrastructure systems we rely on. Floods disrupt transportation by inundating roads, bridges, railways, and airports, sometimes for extended periods.
The repair of flood-damaged asphalt surfaces, tunnels, railway lines, airport runways, and other transportation infrastructure requires significant investments.
Buildings that are submerged in high waters, including residential, commercial, and public buildings, often experience damage to structural elements, interiors, and critical building systems. This necessitates the thorough drying, repair, and reopening of submerged structures.
Utility and Renewable Energy
Extreme weather events are a major cause of power outage incidents. The impact of floods on utilities and energy companies is evident: floods can damage electricity lines and substations, harm solar panels, and cause dam overflows. Depending on their severity, floods can disrupt the supply of electricity for days or even weeks, affecting customer service.
Logistics
Weather can always slow down deliveries or cause damage along the way in any logistics operation. Floods can cause problems throughout logistics operations on highways, while in sea logistics, they can disrupt port operations.
E/Q Commerce
The E/Q Commerce sector is significantly affected by even less severe floods compared to other sectors. Increased rainfall, along with increased customer demand, can make the already challenging operational process even more difficult due to weather conditions. This can lead to changes in courier routes, unexpected delays, and threats to courier safety.
Agriculture
Severe floods can inundate agricultural lands and lead to soil erosion, reducing agricultural productivity. Additionally, floods can damage agricultural infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, storage facilities, and agricultural equipment, leading to disruptions in production and quality loss and damage to agricultural products.
Secondary and Long-Term Effects of Floods
Food shortages due to flooding, economic hardship due to rebuilding costs, or price increases are common effects of severe floods. The impact on those affected can cause psychological damage, especially when there are deaths, serious injuries, and property loss. Sewage waters overflowing due to floods can also lead to outbreaks of diseases in the region.
Buluttan Weather Intelligence: A Strategic Partner to Protect Your Business Against Floods
With Buluttan Weather Intelligence‘s high-accuracy and high-resolution hyper-local weather forecasts, you can access reliable and timely meteorological information to protect your assets and take proactive measures for your assets. The accuracy of our models, which can reach up to 100m resolution, keeps your assets safer than ever before against unexpected weather events.
With Buluttan API, you can have the meteorological parameters you need provided to you at regular intervals. You can have the opportunity to verify an extreme weather event for insured assets.
With Buluttan SkyWatch, while managing E/Q trade operations, your micro-logistics operations staff can access a web-based and mobile-compatible severe weather control panel. With this panel, you can observe weather risks at a hyper-local scale in real time, understand where, when, and how severe the risks will be, monitor real-time radar images, and adjust your operations according to weather conditions to take precautions against future extreme weather events.
With Buluttan Map Layer, you can inform both your drivers and dispatchers of weather risks on the road in real time and develop proactive approaches against them.
