Elevation and population density 1900/1950 - 2010 maps

For my thesis I included several figures showing the elevation and population density over time from the countries the Netherlands, Japan and the United States. It may come as no surprise that the images show most urbanization over the past 60 or 110 years has taken place in the floodplains. 

Map of the Topography and Population Density of the Netherlands (1900, 2010) in people per square kilometer. (Adapted from the Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland, 2014; Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 2014; Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2010).

Map of the Topography and Population Density of Japan (1950, 2010) in people per square kilometer. (Adapted from the Generic Mapping Tools, 2013a; Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), 2011; Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2014).

Map of the Topography and Population Density of the continental United States (1900, 2010) in people per square kilometer. (Adapted from the Generic Mapping Tools, 2013b; United States Census Bureau, 2013a; United States Census Bureau, 2013b).

Images adapted by Daniël Vrielink (2014).

Full references:
Netherlands

• Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland. 2014. AHN Viewer. Retrieved June 22, 2014 http://ahn.geodan.nl/ahn/ (This sub-site does not work anymore but there is information on the open data here: http://www.ahn.nl/pagina/open-data.html)
• Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. 2010. Bevolkingsdichtheid 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2014 from http://i.imgur.com/0W58Ejn.png
• Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant. (n.d.). Bevolkingsdichtheid rond 1900 [Population density around 1900]. Retrieved June 22, 2014. http://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Lab/Profiel/1900/volk00-370.gif A Dutch national newspaper has cataloged various information from 1900 in several maps here: http://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Lab/Profiel/1900/

Japan

• Generic Mapping Tools. (2013a). [Japan GMT topographical map]. Retrieved June 10, 2012 from http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/projects/gmt
• Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC). (2011). Statistical Maps of Japan, 2010 population census of Japan. Retrieved June 5, 2012 from http://www.stat.go.jp/data/chiri/map/c_koku/mitsudo/pdf/2010.pdf
• Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). (2014). Population by prefecture (1920-2012). Retrieved May 3, 2014 from http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nenkan/zuhyou/y0203000.xls (downlodable through http://www.stat.go.jp)

United States

• Generic Mapping Tools. (2013b). [USA GMT topographical map]. Retrieved June 10, 2012 from http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/projects/gmt
• United States Census Bureau. (2013a). Population Density by State: 1900. Retrieved June 21, 2014 from http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/pdfs/thematic/pop_density_1900.pdf
• United States Census Bureau. (2013b). 2010 Census Results - United States and Puerto Rico. Retrieved June 22, 2014 from http://www.census.gov/geo/mapsdata/maps/pdfs/thematic/us_popdensity_2010map.pdf

News in Japan - May

GEJET:
Nuclear regulator OKs plan to build underground ice wall at Fukushima plant

Netherlands:
Stormy weather in East Twente (Dutch)
New Dutch solution to floods

USA:
Tornadoes strike central, southern U.S., killing 9
What Happened When 549 Imaginary Storms Hit New York
Wildfires scorch San Diego County: 'Mother Nature was not on our side'

Other:
How costly are natural hazards? Experts link cost assessment with risk management
Afghan flood death toll rises as thousands need aid
Rains too much even for weather-toughened Gulf Coast
Prehistoric North Sea 'Atlantis' hit by 5m tsunami
Chance of El Niño increases during the remainder of the year, exceeding 65% during summer
Collapse of Antarctic ice sheet is underway and unstoppable but will take centuries
Water Knowledge App
Ten 'golden rules' of strategic flood management revealed by water scientists
Near-normal or below-normal 2014 Atlantic hurricane season predicted

Floods in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia 23 May 2014

Vulnerable People:
Mothers and children bear brunt of disasters
Why do so few young Japanese want to work overseas?
Closing Japan's gender gap could boost GDP 12.5%: report

Consultant urges 'one-of-a-kind' immigration policy for Japan

Curbing bad habits can stop 37 mil premature deaths: study

Japan should stabilize population at 100 mil by 2060: panel

Know your rights when faced with ‘stop and frisk’ situation

China International Water Law Symposium - Day 3

The final day of the 1st Annual International Water Law Symposium and Workshop consisted of a workshop and a PhD forum.

The workshop consisted of short introductions by Dutch (University Utrecht) and Chinese (Wuhan University) researchers to increase the cooperation in international water law research.

The PhD forum consisted of four presentations of PhD topics and external assessment by Professor Karen Bakker (UBC); Dr. Owen McIntyre (Cork); Dr. Sergei Vinogradov (Dundee); Pr. Rijswick (Utrecht). The presenting students and their topics were:

• Su Yu - “A New Approach to Implementing International Water Law – Communications theory, transboundary waters and China”
• Kenneth Kang - “Revisiting systemic approaches to managing transboundary waters – combining theoretical approaches to address contemporary issues” (thesis overview)
• Zoe Yang – “Connecting International Law and the Local User – What Legal Challenges?”
• Liping Dai – “The legal approach to integrated water resources management in China” (visiting PhD researcher at Xiamen CIWL from Utrecht) 

 

China International Water Law Symposium - Day 2

On day 2 of the 1st Annual International Water Law Symposium and Workshop, both Kelly Kibler and I had a presentation about our topics related to transboundary water management. The title of my topic was "Transboundary Water Law and Vulnerable People - Equitable and Reasonable Use". Kelly meanwhile focused on " Hydrologic data as a human right? Equitable access for disaster risk reduction in transboundary river basins".  Both are topics that ideally should be taken into account when preparing international river basin agreements. The presentations were followed by a visit to the University campus and tour around the beautiful lake.

China International Water Law Symposium - Day 1

Tuesday 20 May was the first day of the 1st Annual International Water Law Symposium and Workshop, at Xiamen University in China. Around 60 water professionals from different countries attended and presented their views on transboundary water law, governance and institutions, among which two ICHARM researchers. 

While the details of the individual presentations will soon be disseminated on the website, for now the program is featured here.

News in Japan - April

GEJET:
Tsunami debris disposal completed on schedule in Miyagi, Iwate
Fukushima children start school in Nagano as part of special project

79 U.S. sailors sue TEPCO over radiation during Operation Tomodachi

Tsunami survival by the numbers

USA:
NASA radar watches over California's aging levees
Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge: A Comprehensive Strategy for Hoboken

Netherlands:
Increasing height of river levees necessary to prevent disaster (Dutch)

Other:
Climate impacts 'overwhelming' - UN

Water logging in the Coastal Plain of Zhejiang Province China

M8.2 - 95km NW of Iquique, Chile

M7.6 - 19km S of Iquique, Chile

French scientists are working on an acoustic earthquake shield

Vulnerable people:

Two detainees die at immigration center

Only 1 in 7 Japanese scientists are women: study

Characteristics of vulnerable people

There are four characteristics of vulnerable people listed below. In combination with the hazard type of flood, several examples are listed:

1) Fewer material and/or financial resources

• People cannot afford safe housing
• People cannot afford survival package

2) Less physically or mentally capable

• People cannot see or hear the warnings
• People are unable to move themselves 
• People have trouble moving quickly

3) Less knowledge or experience

• People don't understand risks
• People don't know the evacuation routes

4) Restricted by commitments

• People who have to take care of their family
• People who are police officers, nurses, or teachers
• People who own animals

People can have multiple characteristics simultaneously, or their characteristics might change over the course of their life. This makes it difficult to estimate the number of vulnerable people, as there will be overlap.