LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST
NOTABLE DISASTERS
EGYPT
PART 1: FLOODS
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for
Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
EGYPT
POLITICAL MAP OF EGYPT
(Note: Aswan)
Egypt has frequent
earthquakes, floods, flash
floods and landslides, dust
storms, sandstorms, periodic
droughts, and hot, driving
windstorms called khamsin,
which occur in the spring.
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED
DISASTERS IN EGYPT
FLOODS
GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE
AND COMMUNITIES
STORMS
EARTHQUAKES
HIGH BENEFIT/COST FROM
BECOMING DISASTER
NRESILIENT
DUST STORMS
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Natural Phenomena that Cause
Disasters
Planet Earth’s
atmospherichydrosphericlithospheric
interactions
create
situations
favorable for
FLOODS
THE NILE RIVER
THE NILE’S FERTILE DELTA
FLOOD-PRONE COMMUNITIES
ALONG THE NILE
THE NILE RIVER
• The ancient Egyptians thought of the
annual floods as the annual coming of
the god Hapi.
• They did not realize that the annual
flood cycle happened after rainfall in
the mountains to the south swelled the
tributaries and small rivers that form
the northward-flowing Nile River.
FLOODING IS A PART OF THE
EGYPTIAN CULTURE
• The annual flooding of the Nile River
(Arabic: ‫)عيد وفاء النيل‬, a natural cycle, has
been a part of Egyptian culture since
ancient times.
• It is celebrated annually as a holiday
(known as Wafaa El-Nil) for two weeks
starting August 15.
THE ANNUAL RYTHMN OF
LIFE ALONG THE NILE
THE ANNUAL FLOOD CYCLE
• The first indications of the rise of the
Nile River and the beginning of the
flood cycle are typically seen as early
as the beginning of June.
• A steady increase in water level occurs
until the middle of July.
THE ANNUAL FLOOD CYCLE
(Continued)
• The water level in the Nile continues to
rise until the beginning of September,
then the level remains stationary for a
period of about three weeks.
• In October the water rises again and
reaches its highest level.
THE ANNUAL FLOOD CYCLE
(Continued)
• From October to June, the water level
in the Nile continues to subside until it
once again reaches its lowest level in
June.
ELEMENTS OF RISK AND
DISASTER
ELEMENTS OF EARTHQUAKE
RISK
HAZARDS
EXPOSURE
RISK
VULNERABILITY
LOCATION
FLOOD HAZARDS (AKA
POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• TOO MUCH WATER DISCHARGED
WITHIN THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO
BE ACCOMMODATED NORMALLY IN
THE REGIONAL WATER CYCLE
• EROSION
• SCOUR
• MUDFLOWS
A DISASTER CAN HAPPEN
WHEN THE
POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS
OF A FLOOD INTERACT WITH
EGYPT’S COMMUNITIES
CAUSES
OF RISK
LOSS OF FUNCTION OF
STRUCTURES IN FLOODPLAIN
INUNDATION
INTERACTION WITH
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
FLOODS
CASE HISTORIES
STRUCTURAL/CONTENTS
DAMAGE FROM WATER
WATER BORNE DISEASES
(HEALTH PROBLEMS)
EROSION AND MUDFLOWS
CONTAMINATION OF GROUND
WATER
The annual flood cycle of the
Nile River has made the
difference between living and
dying for thousands of years in
Egypt.
THE NILE AS A SOURCE OF
LIFE
• The annual floods of the Nile River
brought nutrient-rich silt from the
mountains to the Nile delta, which
produced bountiful crops.
ABOUT THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF
WATER
THE NILE AS A SOURCE OF
DEATH
• When the water levels in the Nile River
are too high, flooding prevents
deposition of the nutrient-rich silt in the
Nile delta, reducing agricultural output.
• When water levels are too low for
flooding, the result is low agricultural
output and possible starvation.
TOO MUCH WATER
A DISASTER is ----- the set of failures that overwhelm the
capability of a community to respond
without external help when three
continuums: 1) people, 2) community
(i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and
social constructs), and 3) complex
events (e.g., floods, earthquakes,…)
intersect at a point in space and time.
Disasters are caused by
single- or multiple-event
natural hazards that, (for
various reasons), cause
extreme levels of mortality,
morbidity, homelessness,
joblessness, economic losses,
or environmental impacts.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• When it does happen, the
functions of the community’s
buildings and infrastructure will be
LOST.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is UNPREPARED for what will likely
happen, not to mention the
low-probability of occurrence—
high-probability of adverse
consequences event.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community has NO DISASTER
PLANNING SCENARIO or
WARNING SYSTEM in place as a
strategic framework for early threat
identification and coordinated
local, national, regional, and
international countermeasures.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community LACKS THE
CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a
timely and effective manner to
the full spectrum of expected
and unexpected emergency
situations.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is INEFFICIENT
during recovery and
reconstruction because it HAS
NOT LEARNED from either the
current experience or the
cumulative prior experiences.
FLOODS IN EGYPT ARE INEVITABLE
AND DAMAGING
• ---SO, DON’T WAIT
FOR ANOTHER
REMINDER OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF
BECOMING FLOOD
DISASTER
RESILIENT.
THE ALTERNATIVE TO A
FLOOD DISASTER IS
FLOOD DISASTER
RESILIENCE
FL\OOD RISK
• FLOOD HAZARDS
•INVENTORY
•VULNERABILITY
•LOCATION
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION
ACCEPTABLE RISK
RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
EGYPT’S
COMMUNITIES
FLOOD DISASTER
RESILIENCE
POLICY OPTIONS
HAZARDS:
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
TSUNAMI RUN UP
AFTERSHOCKS
•PREPAREDNESS
•PROTECTION
•FORECASTS/SCENARIOS
•EMERGENCY RESPONSE
•RECOVERY and
RECONSTRUCTION
STRATEGIC COLLABORATION
(I.E., WORKING TOGETHER ON A
COMMON GOAL)
FOR BECOMING FLOOD
DISASTER RESILIENT
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL FLOODS
PREPAREDNESS FOR
ALL OF THE LIKELY
HAZARDS AND
RISKS IS ESSENTIAL
FOR COMMUNITY
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL FLOODS
TECHNOLOGIES
THAT FACILITATE
STRATEGIC
COLLABORATION
ARE ESSENTIAL FOR
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL FLOODS
TIMELY
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE IS
ESSENTIAL FOR
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL FLOODS
PROTECTION OF A
COMMUNITY’S
PEOPLE, BUILDINGS,
& INFRASTRUCTURE
AGAINST LOSS OF
FUNCTION IS
ESSENTIAL FOR
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
THE ASWAN HIGH DAM
After ten years of construction, the
Aswan High Dam in Egypt was
completed on July 21, 1970.
The Aswan High Dam, located
on the Nile River just north of
the border between Egypt and
Sudan, was built to control the
frequent cycles of flooding and
drought within Egypt.
THE ASWAN (HIGH) DAM
THE ASWAN (HIGH) DAM
THE ASWAN HIGH DAM
• At 364 feet (111 meters) high
and about 2.4 miles (3.8
kilometers) wide, the Aswan
High Dam was a marvel of
construction in 1970, costing
about $1 billion to build.
ELECTRICITY
• In addition to preventing flooding of the
Nile River, the Aswan High Dam
brought electricity to households and
villages across Egypt that had never
had it.
• This dam's 12 turbines are capable of
generating ten billion kilowatt-hours
annually
FRESH WATER
• The reservoir (Lake Nasser) with a
gross capacity of 136,927,000 acrefeet (168.9 billion cubic meters).
behind the Aswan High Dam
provides a source of fresh water
for the Egyptian people during
drought years.
Unfortunately, before the
dam could be built, 90,000
of Egypt’s poor and
Sudan’s Nubian nomads
had to be relocated