News in Japan - January

Japan:
20 years after Kobe quake, world rethinks disaster risk Earthquakes expose economic vulnerability to disaster events like no other natural hazard, with the possible exception of recurring extensive floods. They also demonstrate the futility of trying to implement building codes without the buy-in of the private sector. The private sector is responsible for 70 to 85 percent of overall investment in most economies.  

USA:
Going with the flow: Is river basin management misguided?
Rescuing farmland after a flood

Other:
Pakistan's coastal villagers retreat as seas gobble land
Greenland Ice: The warmer it gets the faster it melts
Better dam planning strategies
Long list of sustainable development goals likely to stay, UNDP says
Russia's forests overlooked in climate change fight

China sets 2020 "artificial weather" target to combat water shortages

Malawi floods raise fears of cholera outbreak, poor harvest
Thousands stranded in Malawi as floods trigger "slow tsunami"

More rains, more deaths as floods across southern Africa set to worsen Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world with a population of 16 million, has been hardest hit, with at least 176 confirmed dead and 121,000 displaced.
States, donors must do more to tackle rising disaster risk - UN According to a 2013 report from the London-based Overseas Development Institute, the international community spent $13.5 billion on reducing the risk of damage from disasters in the past two decades - just 40 cents for every $100 of aid.
Toward Resilience: A Guide to Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

IFAD grant for flood-based farming in Africa and Asia

Gates foundation sees huge gains against disease, poverty by 2030

Africa can end hunger by 2025 with effective policies - FAO official

Mozambique says death toll rises after heavy flooding

Oysters and magroves protect Bangladesh against floods (Dutch)

Board game puts new spin on competitive land-use dynamics

Ice sheets jamming up rivers

Having read on the historic situation of ice in river in the Netherlands, I decided to find out more on this topic. I was already familiar with historical pictures of this situation occurring on the river Rhine (see below, 1789):

I did not expect it, but this is still a matter of importance nowadays. The Manual De-icing Waterways from the Dutch public works institute (2010) tells the history of ice breaking in the Netherlands. It starts with a steamboat with ice breaker active as early as 1861. In the 1960's the government experimented with breaking ice by explosives. Bombs or rockets were found to be ineffective as the loosened ice would easily compact and form new ice walls. Given the current importance of transportation by ship (>30% of all goods transported in the Netherlands), rivers and canals are often kept open and there is no formation of such a high ice wall as in 1789. 

In Japan however, while the river geomorphology in Hokkaido should lead to ice break-ups and river jams, due to heavy snow cover this rarely happens. In combination with the low reliance on river transportation, there is no special governmental procedure to break the ice. As observed in the paper

'Aspects of river ice hydrology in Japan' (2002): 

"Rivers in northern Japan are subjected to ice formation each winter. They are typically very steep with rapid changes in channel slope. As a result, ice covers are usually discontinuous with open water sections. Winter discharges in Japanese rivers are usually very small. Water temperature and ice production in these streams are very sensitive to the change in air temperature. The open water sections enable the formation of frazil and anchor ice during the winter. Owing to the relatively stable winter weather and heavy snow cover, premature break-up and ice jams rarely occur, even though the channel geometry of these rivers is favourable for their occurrence. In this paper, hydrometeorological factors related to ice-cover formation, frazil and anchor-ice development, and ice-jam formation, as well as measurements of the undercover discharge in rivers in northern Japan are discussed." 

What we do find are beautiful river shaped fractures in the lakes in Hokkaido:

Dutch flood evacuation remembrance

The Dutch newspaper Trouw reported on the historic near flood 20 years ago in 1995, in the area called Rivierenland (river land) in the Netherlands. While many levees have been reinforced, what is the sentiment of the inhabitants?

An overview of the river projects improving the levees since 1995:
1995-2005: Delta plan great rivers
Since 1996: High water protection program
2006-2015: Elaboration of the river area (NURG)
2007-2015: Space for the River
Since 2014: Delta program

On January 31, 1995, around 240,000 people were evacuated from the river area in the center of the country, after more than 10,000 people evacuated earlier  in the Southern province Limburg. Even though the levees have since been reinforced, they are now getting another round of reinforcements. About 200 km of levee has not passed the safety norm tests. In one area this means 58 houses have to be demolished. To encourage the repeated spreading of safety messages, the water board sponsors commemorative plates and theater pieces about the evacuation 20 years ago. One building initiative is called a climate levee, akin to the Japanese superlevee, where the levee is extended in width and people may live on it.

One inhabitant of a town where the levees almost broke has initiated such a commemorative plaque for the almost-flood. In the town Ochten people suddenly had to evacuate within 3 hours, unlike other towns that had more than a day to prepare. After the evacuation, many families moved as they didn't feel safe anymore. But this person feels protected by the new governmental projects to reinforce the levees.

Another inhabitant of the floodplains recalls how they had to evacuate their cattle. Afterwards he was angry at the government for not maintaining the levees and not reimbursing evacuation costs. He joined the water board to make sure this failure would not occur again. He remembers older stories too, from a flood in 1926 his mother experienced where the roof of their house floated away. During the December 1993 high water he already considered what to do in case of an evacuation. During the January 1995 evacuation his family could stay at a vacation park, which was nice for his children who even got swimsuits for free. However, there was a lack of modern communication devices such as mobile phones or internet, and he didn't know the whereabouts of his parents for days. Afterwards he joined the protests against the government plans to not reimburse 100% of the evacuation costs, and now feels proud to be part of the government that then failed to protect the inhabitants. This way he can make sure this is not repeated.

Great Garuda in Jakarta

Dutch Newspaper Trouw reported on the Great Garuda Masterplan that the engineering company Witteveen+Bos is proposing in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Jakarta is facing an average land subsidence of 7.5 cm annually, but some areas experience 25 cm, which means that flooding is a real threat.The main cause of subsidence is ground water withdrawal, which only increases with increasing urbanization.  The rivers meanwhile often become clogged by garbage, and drainage systems are behind in maintenance.The current poor state of levees adds to these problems. Even without climate change and rising sea levels, the city is facing the consequences of unsustainable water management.

The Great Garuda Masterplan is to create a large reservoir between the city and the ocean, which can store water during the rainy season. It has to be located off land as there is no space left on land to build a reservoir. In combination with this, the goal is to both heighten the levees (both for the rivers and the ocean) and clean the rivers, so that in the future the stored water flowing from the rivers to the reservoir may be used as drinking water.

The engineering firm combined the idea of building a reservoir with the opportunity for constructing houses or industrial areas along the edges, to partially gain back the construction costs. They also propose measures to reduce the burden of this construction project on people living in poverty, such as sluices for fishermen to pass through the reservoir.

It will still take 2-3 years before the various levels of the Indonesian government make their final decision on which of the many proposed plans to execute, so we will have to wait and see if Jakarta gets this Garuda reservoir.