Yanko Design, the web magazine that features the best international modern designs from industrial design, concepts, technology, interior design, architecture, exhibition and fashion, presents The Wall for Flood Control, a concept by designer Ho-Hyeok Lee.

The wall for flood control may be the perfect solution for living areas that are naturally prone to flooding.

Features and function
The wall for flood control is made up of partitions that are locked together to form a platform/wall. These panels are safe-locked together to prevent each partition from moving. It can be unlocked if only certain partitions are needed to be used. When unlocked, the green light turns on. When locked, the red light goes on.

What interesting about this architectural concept is that it doesn’t manual operation nor power source. Here’s how it works: The wall for flood control uses only the buoyant force of water to get into position. When the water level rises, the wall retracts up to form a barrier. When the water level drops, the wall lowers back down into a platform for pedestrians.

Also, the wall for flood control may be installed on existing facilities.

(image source:http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/08/14/dikes-and-dams-be-damned/)

Posted in Preparation

The lastest news regarding the scientific debate about how, and whether global warming will affect the world’s most violent storms, is that there will be stronger storms - dust devils and water spouts, tornadoes and hurricanes. Or at least this is what us predicted by a team from the University of Michigan.

In the Swedish Journal Tellus A, the University of Michigan team of well-respected and well-credentialed scientists, improves on the predictions of computer models which stimulate the effects of climate change. Their predictions state that for every 3.6 degrees F the Earth’s surface temperature warms, the intensity of of these storms could increase by a few percent.

Nilton Renno lead author of the team said that “It shows us that climate change could lead to increases in how efficient convective vortices are and how much energy they transform into wind. Fueled by warmer and moister air, there will be stronger and deeper storms in the future that reach higher into the atmosphere.”

Last May, NOAA suggested that the hurricanes in the Atlantic will grow stronger but will occur less often due to global warming. However, contrary to NOAA’s suggestion, a prominent hurricanes researcher - who had previously supported NOAA’s suggestion - is now second-guessing some of his own ideas.

In 2007, there were fewer hurricanes than expected, though there were rapidly intensifying cyclones in the Atlantic Basin. The World Meteorological Organization also retired three killer storm names - Dean, Felix and Noel.

Early predictions for 2008 are for an above-average year filled with frequent storms and intense hurricanes. Storm season officially starts June 1. The second named storm of the season became its first major hurricane - Hurricane Bertha.

To date, 2008 tornado activity remains above average. Tornadoes have killed more people than any other year since 1998 and is on track to be the deadliest ever recorded. (source:http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/hurricanes-global-warming-47070903?src=rss)

Posted in Tornadoes & Hurricanes

Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. They are created by powerful thunderstorms.

Tornadoes are characterized by their funnel shape,extending to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. The tornadoes path of damage can go for over a mile wide and 50 miles long.

Tornadoes sometimes develop so fast that there’s usually very little time for advance warning.

Here are some markers. Before a tornado strikes, the wind may decrease or even die down. The air may become very still. Before the funnel shape of the tornado can be seen, a cloud of debris can pinpoint the location of the tornado. Tornadoes usually happen near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. You can typically see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado. Some tornadoes are clearly visible, meaning you can really see the funnel shape of swirling air and debris. Some tornadoes on the other hand are obscured buy low hanging clouds.

Other important facts about tornadoes:

Tornadoes generally move Southwest to Northeast. But they are known to move in any direction.

Tornadoes have an average forward speed of 30 MPH, but their speeds vary from fixed to 70 MPH.

Tropical storms and hurricanes can come with tornadoes as they make their way to land.

Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.

In the United States, reports of tornadoes are most often from east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer.

In the Southern States, the peak tornado season is between March to May. Up north, the peak season is from late spring through early summer.

Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3-9 pm. But tornadoes can occur any time.

Posted in Tornadoes & Hurricanes

Water-Related Disasters

Between 1990-2001, of the 2,200 water-related disasters which occurred, floods account for 50% of these disasters.

Water-borne and vector disease outbreaks account for 28%. Droughts, 11%. Landslide and avalanches, 9%. And famine account for 2%.
Most affected areas

Among the continents, Asia is the most affected - 35%, followed closely by Africa - 29%. The Americas - 20%. Europe - 13, and lastly, Oceania - 3%.

Floods

Floods account for 15% of all deaths related to natural disasters, famines for 42%.
From from 1973 to 1997, Approximately 66 million people suffered flood damage.
Between 1987 and 1997, 44% of all flood disasters affected Asia, claiming 228,000 lives (roughly 93% of all flood-related deaths worldwide). Economic losses for the region totalled US$136 billion.

Water-Related Natural Disasters

In 1999, 50,000 deaths were due to natural disasters. This is 10,000 more than the previous year: 40, 000 deaths due to natural disasters in 1998.

In 1999, natural disasters cost a total of US$70 billion. In 1990, the cost ran up to US$30.

Trends in food emergencies

The The proportion of food emergencies that are human-induced is rising. In 1981, 58% of food emergencies were due to natural disasters, 15% were human-induced. In 1997, 71% were due to natural disasters, 29% human-induced. Whereas, in 2001, 61% were induced by natural disasters, compared to 39% human-induced.

Posted in Information

Talks about global warming have surfaced and resurfaced, national and international rules of law are being carried out, but up to now, very few people have knowledge on the basics of this phenomenon. This is a disturbing fact, moreso because global warming is a universal concern and as such, we should all be involved in the effort to eradicate, or at the very least, to lessen the harm that it will likely cause.

Global Warming Defined

In the most simplistic terms, global warming is defined as the recent increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface. This increase is caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. The word greenhouse gases refers to the components which absorb water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and ozone. In the event that these gases would be absorbed fully, the temperature of the Earth would then be too hot to be inhabitable.

Effect of Global Warming

There are many environmental effects of global warming. These are inclusive of Arctic shrinkage or the marked decrease in Arctic sea ice and the glacial retreat which would cause a significant loss in the low elevation region of a glacier. Additionally, extreme weather conditions, worldwide sea level rise, and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation which is likely to result in drought and flood, are also distinct environmental effects of global warming.

Of course, the occurrence of these disasters would make it extremely difficult for us all to recuperate, as these would ultimately cause irreversible social, political, and economic damages.

Taking Action

With all of the serious complications that come with the global warming phenomenon, it is crucial that we do our part in combating the upsurge of the effects of global warming. One way of doing this is by conserving carbon dioxide, one of the gases that are being depleted by greenhouse gases.

Here are a few things we can do to step up and take action:

Save carbon dioxide by:

- keeping your car tires adequately inflated

- buying a hybrid car

- changing your car’s air filter every month

- patronizing recycled paper

- unplugging electronic devices when not in use

- using compact fluorescent bulbs

- planting trees

By doing such things, you do your part in ensuring that the effects of global warming can be lessened an thus help prevent our already vulnerable environment from the threat of increasing sea levels.

Posted in Floods

Flood Guard Systems Ltd. (Floodguards) has created a number products that are fairly helpful come rainy season. Floodguards’ products are practical yet effective.

Airbrick Covers
Airbricks and wall vents are integral in modern building construction. Without them, air would not be able to circulate inside infrastructures and would build up condensation.

However, though airbricks and vents allow air to circulate, they also allow water to get in quickly during a flood. Airbricks and vents need water tight covering the way doors and French windows need floodguards.

Floodguards has manufactured airbrick and vent covers in to protect your homes from floods. Airbrick and vent covers come in four standard sizes to fit most regular-shaped openings.

Single brick: 245mm x 115mm
Double brick: 245mm x 245mm
Triple brick: 390mm x 245mm
Circular: 105mm diameter
All sizes come in white, a practical color to remind you to remove them after the danger has passed.

How it works:

These airbrick and vent covers are simply clipped to custom-fitted backframes that are sealed to the wall. As the pressure builds, the the tighter the seal gets. After the event has passed, simply wash your airbrick and vent covers and store properly.

The backframes (to which the covers are clipped) can be ordered in the following colors:grey, brown, brick red and white - to match the most common wall colors - but can be custom colored to blend perfectly into your walls. These backframes can also be custom-made to fit unusually shaped airbricks and/or vents.

Floodalert
A Floodguards’ Floodalert technology is a wise investment to make to prevent the destructive effects of a flood. Advance warning is just what people need to put up whatever flood defenses they have to protect their homes or to evacuate if necessary.

If you happen to be away, then an alarm must be sounded to alert the keyholders of a potential flood in the way. If you’re home, but asleep, you have to woken up.

Floodalert is basically like a burglar alarm - for water.

How it works:

a sensor pod is set up at a certain point where flood water reaches before it’s too late - the side of an outbuilding, for instance. Water immediately hits the sensor pod and an electronic alarm is sent to the control box inside your house. The control box automatically sounds off an alarm and dials four phone numbers with a recording of a flood warning message. It will keep dialing until it gets a positive response that helps is on the way. The numbers you program can be for anyone: relatives, neighbors, a security company, etc. They in turn put up your flood guards to protect your home.

Sump and Pump
Water can seep through, even in the most guarded areas. To prevent the rising level of flood water from becoming a problem, install Floodguards’ Sump & Pump in your establishment. It’s tiny, lined, covered shaft at the lowest point in the ground behind your Floodguards protection.

How it works:

Flood water that seeps through will head for the sump and fill the shaft. Simply take the lid off, insert the pump, connect a hose that goes over your flood defences and pump the water out.

Floodguards Sheds
To store your flood defences, Floodguards offers sturdy and durable custom-made sheds that allow you instant access at a moments notice. Durable locks protect your equipment when not in use.

Floodguards’ Sheds are available in two sizes:

(h x w x d):
0.84m x 3m x 1.13m
0.84m x 2m x 1.13m

Posted in Preparation

Be prepared. In the event of a flood, there are a few simple ways to protect your home and belongings from being damaged.

• Create your own emergency flood plan.
  • Check your insurance cover
• Know where your gas, electricity and water mains are located in advance of a flood.
• Think about what you would want to move to safety during a flood
  • Keep all of your electrical items as high up in your house as possible.
  • Store important documents in a waterproof sealed bag in a safe location from flood water.
• Think about what you can move now
  • Park your car on higher ground to avoid damage.
  • Outdoor pets
  • Cars
  • Furniture
  • Garden equipments
• Prepare a flood kit of essential items
• Know who to contact and how
• Know your local flood codes.

Preparing Your Own Flood Defenses

Depending on your location, your local council will make sandbags available to as many residents as possible for them to protect their homes from flooding.

If your home is at a high risk of flooding, it is best to have your own supply. You local builders merchant can supply them to you.

Check the market for various flood protection products. A lot of these products can installed in advance and can be simply removed and put back again whenever needed. Examples of these are the flood board and air brick cover. Available also are plastic skirts to surround your whole property; temporary free-standing barriers which can protect a group of properties. Check with your local environment agency for the list or removable flood defence products, including their suppliers.

Posted in Floods, Preparation

Everyday we are constantly bombarded by the negative effects of global warming. However, scientists from the UK’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Universities of York and Leeds, has some very positive news to share. Vast amounts of ozone – 50% more than what is predicted by the world’s-state-of-the-art climate models – are being destroyed in the lower atmosphere over the Tropical Atlantic.

This news is specifically important because the ozone in the lower atmosphere acts as a greenhouse gas. Its destruction also leads to the removal of the third most abundant greenhouse gas: methane.

Research Findings on Greenhouse Gas Loss

The findings came from analysing data from Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory – recently set up by British, German and Cape Verdean Scientists. The scientists analyzed the first year of measurements from the observatory, and alerted by these data, flew a research aircraft into the atmosphere to measure ozone at different height and widely across the Tropical Atlantic. The results are similar to those made at the Observatory. It also showed vast ozone loss throughout the remote area.

Causes of Greenhouse Gas Loss

Instruments developed by people a the University of Leeds in the UK, which is also used at the Observatory, found that there is bromine and iodine oxide present over the area. These chemicals are produced by sea spray and are emitted by phytoplankton, causing the ozone to break down. The destruction of the ozone produces a chemical which destroys the methane.

Measurement and Experiment are irreplaceable

Monitoring the atmosphere over the Tropical Atlantic had not been possible before because of its physical inaccessibility. But now, with this new chemistry included in climate models, it can provide us with more accurate measurements of ozone and methane in the atmosphere. Thus, we will can make better climate predictions for the future.

Experts Take on This Startling Discovery

Professor Alastair Lewis, Director of Atmospheric Composition at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and a lead scientist in this study, said: “At the moment this is a good news story — more ozone and methane being destroyed than we previously thought - but the tropical Atlantic cannot be taken for granted as a permanent ’sink’ for ozone. The composition of the atmosphere is in fine balance here- it will only take a small increase in nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel combustion, carried here from Europe, West Africa or North America on the trade winds, to tip the balance from a sink to a source of ozone”

Professor John Plane, University of Leeds said: “This study provides a sharp reminder that to understand how the atmosphere really works, measurement and experiment are irreplaceable. The production of iodine and bromine mid-ocean implies that destruction of ozone over the oceans could be global”.

Dr Lucy Carpenter, University of York and UK co-ordinator of the Observatory added: “This observatory is a terrific facility that will enable us to keep an eye on the chemical balance of the atmosphere and feed this information into global climate models to greatly improve predictions for this region in the future”.

Posted in Global Warming

Though the flooding in central England nearly a year ago were very severe, a scientific analysis on the event say that they cannot be linked to climate change.The magnitude of last July’s flooding prompted experts to say that they were due to climate change and an indication of similar summer-time flooding to come.

But, as per the report published by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, experts say that there is a trend for less flooding during summers and more rainfall during winters. Researchers of said institute analyzed flooding trends for the last fourty years all across England, and arrived at this conlusion.

Terry Marsh of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said “the raindfall…was remarkable” and it fired speculations that the increasingly risky floods are due to global warming. “Due to the inherent variability of the UK climate, any extreme hydrological event cannot readily be linked directly to climate change” said Marsh.

The researchers also added that a historical view showed how truly phenomenal last year’s floods were. The affected areas include Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and towns along the rivers Severn and Avon.

Reviewing data that went back to 1766, from May to July last year, the average rainfall for England and Wales was 415 mm. This is the highest ever recorded. In a table showing the 15 wettes years only one other year occurred in the 20th century - 1924. In summer of that year (May to July), 308 mm of rainfall fell. That is 107 mm less than last year’s and is said to be the equivalent of seven weeks of average rainfall.

The detailed data on the river flows for the last 40 years only supports the theory that last years flooding was exceptional. Marsh and Jamie Hannaford show, in an analysis in the International Journal of Climatology, that river flows did increas but the said increases are mostly confined to the north and west. Hannaford said that “This trend is driven by an increase in, generally, winter high flows”. Thus, last year’s summer floods happened in the wrong season and the wrong place which means that “The summer 2007 floods don’t really fit into these patterns.”

The increase in winter flooding would fit prediction of some climate modellers for wetter winters and dryer summers. But, Hannaford said that it cannot be accurately determined whether the trends in the data are due to global warming. The British climate is too inconsistent from year to year to know for certain. Hannford adds “We have only 40 years of data which generally is too short to determine whether or not these trends are caused by any underlying climatic mechanism.” And even if the rainfall increases due to climate change, it might actually lowers the flood risks at some times of a year because there would be less snow melt in spring and the higher temperatures dry soild earlier.

Marsh said that climate change could even provide a “silver lining” due to the fact that drier summers could limit the winter flood period because the soil would absorb more water.

Posted in Floods

Flooding hazards can be divided as primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary hazards are those that occur due to contact with flood water. Secondary effects are those that occur as direct effect of flooding such as disruption of services (such as power interruptions) and health impacts such as famine and disease. A sample of a tertiary effect, on the other hand, are changes in the position of river channels. Flooding is considered to be one of the most devastating disasters in terms of cost as reflected to property damages and life casualties. Major floods in China had surfaced a number of casualties: 2 million people in 1887, 4 million in 1932 and about 1 million in 1938. Another destructive flood is that of the Upper Mississippi River, despite only 47 people were killed, an economic loss from 15 to 20 million dollars was estimated.Direct contact with flood waters compromises the primary effects of floods. Floods with an increase of discharge increases velocity, and with higher velocities, streams could transport large particles such as rocks and sediments. Floods can cause erosion, wall, floor and furniture damages. Flooding in farmland can results in crop loss. Livestock, pets and other animals are often carried away and drown. Even humans can get carried away and drown. It could also concentrate on garbage, debris and toxic pollutants that can cause secondary effects.

Secondary effects are direct results of the primary effects. Basically, these are disruption of services. Pollution of drinking water is the greatest example and it can cause diseases especially in under developed countries. Gas and electrical service may also be disrupted, as well as transportation systems. Disruption of transportation systems can even lead to shortages of food and clean up supplies.

Tertiary effects are the long term changes that take place due to flooding. Location of river channels may change as the result of flooding, new channels develop, leaving the old channels dry. It can also lead to the destroy of farmlands due to sediment deposits. Jobs may be lost due to the disruption of services and destruction of business. Destruction of wildlife habitat is another effect.

Posted in Floods