The Environmental Risks priority area of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region have supported the development of an e-learning study material concentrating on floods. The activity of “Facilitating the organization of the flood protection training and enlargement an educational network” is related to the project which is supporting the implementaiton of the coordination of the priority area, co-funded by the European Union (ERDF funds) and Hungary.
Past experiences show that community cooperation and individual action are important elements of the successful flood protection. The first criteria of cooperation and action is the social integration of flood risk awareness. It has to be obvious for the stakeholders that they have to face floods and their consequences from time to time.
A thorough education is necessary about the environmental factors affecting the formation of floods, about the movement of the rivers in basins, and about the consequences of flood propagation that have an impact on the communities.
As long as the people understand what impacts a possible flood event can have on the environment, they will more likely accept the rules and measures that aim to avoid or at least mitigate flood damages. It is also important that people who live on the floodplain are aware of their options regarding the damage reduction of their assets.
These rules include the urban development plans’ construction restriction on specific areas, marking of the road network and avoiding any such measure that would reduce the runoff capacity of the rivers.
The aim of the present study material is to contribute to the public education regarding the importance of flood protection. In the study material we remember the floods of the Danube basin during past two decades, clarify a few basic concepts to help the understanding of the material, review the hydrological characteristics of the Danube basin, present the outstanding advancement that made the reliable forecast of today possible and show that the possibilities of forecasts do have their limits regarding time.
It is necessary to emphasize that operative flood protection is a process that focuses on the tackling of undesired flood phenomena – that we briefly describe in the study material. The success of the operative flood protection mainly depends on the level of preparedness and cooperation in between the individuals, communities, authorities and the countries.
The study guide you through the following topics:
- Why is public involvement important?
Introduction, Summary
- Previous floods
Historical floods on the Danube river basin
- Basic concepts
Flood hydrology, flood alert levels, flood management and flood control structures
- Danube river basin
General description of the river basin
- Forecast systems
The establishment, current websites
- International cooperation
Cooperation of the countries of a shared river basin
- Flood phenomenon
Water damage protection, protection facility failures and the relevant measures
- Individual defense and residential cooperation
The importance of community and individual defense, and its methodology
- Informational websites
- Test
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