Team Powerpuff
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Strategic flood risk management aims to primarily reduce risk to people and communities
as well as promote economies, ecosystem goods and services, and social well-being. Alongside
that, good flood risk management monitors and adapts to the situation and setting long-term goals
(Pavlovska et al., 2013). With that, the project considers that floods are a force of nature that have
and will continue to exist, as well as defense structures primarily having a goal to protect human
health and safety as well as valuable property. Forecasting and warning about floods is a
requirement to curb flood damage, as well as allowing it to gauge what measures can be taken
and what level of response can be prepared (European Commission, 2003).
Different techniques in curbing flooding and damages are tackled in projects across the
world, especially considering the effects of climate change. In a review done by Martinez et al.
(2020), these measures include structural measures and non-structural measures. Structural
measures include dams, dikes, flood barriers, and amphibious constructions, while non-structural
measures include urban design, flood risk management plan, land use, and flood preparedness
measures and forecasting warnings. As the focus of this project is to build a flood barrier on the
flood doors of houses, we focus on this section of the review. Elastic or permeable material can
be used to create flood barriers, and it can be devised in a multitude of ways, such as having
manual or automatic operation. They are also often pre-installed and demountable, but they are
very vulnerable as climate change can have an effect on their effectiveness.
As stated by A Better City (2015), there are multiple benefits to passive floodproofing,
which this project aims to do by installing a flood barrier on the front doors of houses. It minimizes
human intervention when there’s an active flood, does not use any electricity (therefore saving
money and time), can be a permanent installation (and can be tailored to a site’s needs), and has
low long-term maintenance costs. However, benefits also come with limitations, which include
upfront costs, building permits (depending on local jurisdiction), and the fact that they will no
longer be effective once floodwaters rise above the barrier.
Costs relating to installing flood barriers are even a main issue to major US states, as well
as concerns with lack of familiarity with the systems, and long-term maintenance costs. However,
it is important to note here that these concerns are largely related to large flood barriers installed
in major roadways. In addition, the survey was conducted on state agencies which have minimal
or no flooding occurring (which include the states of Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming), as well as the focus on those
states’ major roadways due to the research being conducted by a state agency largely concerned
with transport rather than disaster risk reduction management (Caltrans Division of Research,
Innovation and System Information, 2020).
Nevertheless, while the flood barriers are being installed in a smaller scale and some
points mentioned above are not as prominent a problem as the larger-scale projects concerning
roadways and commercial buildings, points taken from those projects can be put into
consideration when conducting this one.
Societal Impacts of Floods
Floods pose threats to drinking water systems as they carry contaminants that make the
consumers sick. Elevated turbidity in water sources could make it impossible for a water system’s
treatment plant to effectively treat water (Washington State Department of Health, 2019). Thus,
the serious consequences of flooding are the large-scale contamination of drinking water (surface
water, ground water, and distribution systems). Water ways can be contaminated with
microorganisms such as bacteria, industrial waste that causes serious illness (Murshed et., 2014;
Yard et a., 2014; Chaturongkasumrit et al., 2013). Drinking water that is impacted by flood is a
potential reason to become ill or have a topical reaction (Sittler, 2017). Research in Dominican
Republic has shown the association between flooding and displacement with the result of
inadequate sanitary conditions and massive increase in communicable public health disease
(McCluskey, 2015).
The most direct impact of flood is damage to property caused by physical contact between
floodwaters and economic assets, human beings, with the result for human beings injuries and
death (Bubeck et al., 2017). According to Alcantara (2019) in a study “Overview of the Societal
Impacts of Floods in the Philippines” societal impacts can be classified into 4 categories of
impacts. First is direct impacts this results from the physical contact between humans and
floodwater. Indirect impacts these are the subsequent results of secondary destruction such as
business losses (University of South Carolina, 2014). Further classification is tangible impacts
such as flood damage, and intangible impacts it includes discomfort and other psychological
impacts from flooding (Hudson et al., 2019).
Waste Disposal
Waste disposal is considered as both a social and political issue around the globe.
Recycling is a major constituent of waste disposal and could be considered a reasonable
response to a critically catastrophic environmental crisis (Beal, 2012). One of the major waste
disposal problems is associated with generation of too much wastes. Solely in America they are
responsible for producing approximately 277 million tons of waste per year as statistically stated
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2018. Moreover proper waste disposal
and management has become a profit making venture, those who advocate safe, quality and
proper management of waste disposal are outmatched by industries in the business. In a study
conducted by BMC Public Health it revealed on the results that 93.1% of household owners
disposed food debris as waste and 77.8% disposed plastic materials as waste and about 83 % of
the respondents were aware that improper waste disposal contributes to disease causation
(Yoada et al., 2014).
Improper waste disposal doesn’t just contaminate soil and the local water supply, but it
can also pollute air (Rajalakshmi & Elbeshbishy, 2020). Not following proper disposal procedures
can affect soil and water properties. It also produces lethal gases such as carbon monoxide and
methane gases. Among all countries, Thailand is one of the leading contributors of the leakage
of plastics in the oceans, which in return results in inefficient waste disposal. Moreover the amount
of plastic waste is continuously increasing because of the increasing population of plastic
consumption. To reduce the impacts of plastic waste 3R’s have to be applied, Reduce-ReuseRecycle. Nonetheless, the current plan for appropriate waste disposal has been established and
several approaches, promotions are now being used to strengthen the implementation.
In the local context, Davao City outlawed the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and
polystyrene foam as food containers. Therefore, only recyclable, biodegradable or reusable
containers are allowed to be used as food and beverage containers. Due to potential pollutive
impact on the environment, the city opted for less plastic usage and gradually shifted to no plastic
use. However, 30% of garbages of households when not collected are assumed to be thrown or
burned anywhere (Revita, 2020). Excessive production of these waste can contribute to
environmental issues such as clogging on drainage in massive flooding.
Typhoon
The Philippines is one of the countries that is most prone to tropical storms, with an
average of 6-9 typhoons making landfall per year (Blanc & Strobl, 2016). Regardless of any
increase in intensity and frequency, its effects are most likely aggravated by the country’s growing
population and it’s localized environmental degradation. With the recent statistics, Goni is the
strongest landfalling typhoon in world recorded history with 195 mph winds (Madarang, 2020).
Authorities have said that more than 389, 000 people have been forced evacuated. A total of 2
millions were affected according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council. More than 100 cities had experienced power failures and disruptions in water supply.
Those winds, which were equivalent to the strong category 5 hurricane, made it as strong as
Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) which devastated Tacloban City in the Philippines in 2013
(Cabato & Samenow, 2020).
According to Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) typhoon Pablo made it to the list
of the most destructive typhoons to ever hit the Philippines. The eye of the storm’s hardest hit are
in Compostela Valley and Davao Orietal provinces, heavy downpours triggered landslides and
flash floods in certain areas. CNN news also reported that the roofs of buildings were swept away
by the 175 mph winds like flying machetes. A total of 200,000 people were stranded after the
storm, unable to get anywhere due to landslides and rapid increase of flood waters (History,
2018). In Metro Manila, Typhoon Ulysses triggers the worst flood in the year 2020, floods are
waist-height and there are reported missing incidents. A rough estimate of 40,000 homes had
been submerged in Marikina City. In an radio interview in DZMM Marikina City Mayor Marcelino
Teodoro called the situation overwhelming and the worst since a typhoon flooded large swathes
in Manila.
In the local context, moderate to heavy rainfalls caused by Typhoon Vicky resulted in
massive floods. Thus, Davao City is regarded as the “typhoon-free” city (Mongaya, 2011). To this
day, due to typhoon Sendong and typhoon Pablo it unexpectedly changed, such that Davao City
is now considered as one of the typhoon paths (National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council, 2012). Due to insufficient attention to flood hazard assessment disaster
mitigation is not achieved which exacerbate several flood occurrences.
Drainage System
The purpose of city drainage systems are in place to remove the excess water in
development. This could be floodwater, rainwater, and different kinds of run off. Drainage systems
are also in place to remove wastewater effectively, and this is referred to as a sewer system. This
system can be separate for stormwater and sewers but sometimes both these inputs drain into
the same underground drainage system. The advantage of having separate drainage systems is
that stormwater runoff is not so dangerous that it has to be treated. This can be drained directly
into water bodies. Water containing sewage and industrial wastes, on the other hand, can be
extremely toxic. Therefore, they have to undergo at least a primary treatment before they can be
let into water bodies.
Storm Drain Filter
Storm Drain is a catch basin insert filter that captures and treats stormwater pollutants
commonly found in runoff from parking lots or alongside roadways, such as: sediment, debris,
nutrients, coliform bacteria, oil/grease and dissolved metals. The system uses preassembled
proprietary cartridge filters that can be customized for desired pollutants. Two styles – round and
rectangular – are available in multiple sizes allowing this product to work well with most storm
drains and making it an ideal solution for municipal storm drain retrofits. Storm water runoff can
carry a wide range of contaminants, many of which exceed federal maximum contaminant levels,
into surface water resources (e.g., rivers and lakes). The use of filtration systems has received
greater attention for its potential to remove particulate matter and other contaminants
The rectangular Storm Drain unit includes a heavy-duty adjustable aluminum frame (up to
2 inches) and works well in non-standard storm drain inlets, inlets with construction flaws, and
inlets with obstacles like ledges or a shallow depth. In addition, the design includes a “hooded”
bypass to reduce flooding concerns during heavy storm events. While the round StormBasin unit
does not include an adjustable frame, it does come in multiple sizes including 24″, 26″, 28″ and
30″ diameters. Installation and maintenance for both the round and rectangular StormBasin units
is simple as trash and debris can be removed with a vector hose.
HyperSpectral Camera
The hyperspectral camera handles and processes information across the electromagnetic
spectrum. Hyperspectral imaging aims to obtain the range for each pixel in the image of a scene
to find objects, identify materials, or detect processes. There are three general branches of
spectral imagers. There are push broom scanners and the related whisk broom scanners (spatial
scanning), which read images over time. Sequential band scanners (spectral scanning) acquire
images of an area at different wavelengths, and snapshot hyperspectral imaging uses a staring
array to generate a picture instantly.
Flood Control and Management
Flood control refers to the methods used to reduce damaging effects of flood waters. The
common techniques for flood control are installation of rock bems, expansion of drainage canals,
dikes, dams or detention basins (Herald Scholarly, 2018). In the US the National Weather
Services issues weather forecasts and flood warnings. It helps the community establish flood
warning systems and conducts flood hazard analysis and provides other technical assistance.
Barriers or dikes are used to divert flows of water by redirecting rivers and preventing inundation
of vulnerable coastlines or floodplains. Dikes, spurs, canals act as the first line of defense against
overflowing rivers and floods. By keeping water out, flood control is seen to lessen harm to
infrastructures and helps to ensure continuation of communities economic and social activity
(United States Agency International Development, 2012).
In the Philippines, Metro Manila Flood Management has established a master plan
proposed to effectively manage major flood events which includes: improving urban drainage
systems, improving flood forecasting and early warning systems and community-based flood risk
management, and improving institutional arrangements for better flood management which was
already approved by National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board in 2012. The
master plan aims to reduce vulnerability and to strengthen resilience against floods. It primarily
addresses structural measures to improve urban drainage in Metro Manila (Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority, 2018) that will be achieved through an integrated set of interventions to
modernize existing flood systems.