Severe Flooding Hits NZ and European Countries

In less than two months apart, torrential rains swept across the country and brought with it record floods that devastated properties – many homes were declared unlivable, damaged farm assets, and forced thousands of residents to evacuate from their homes.

On May 30, heavy rains and flooding caused a state of emergency to be declared for the entire Canterbury region, east coast of the South Island.

Hundreds have evacuated their homes, and many others have abandoned them as heavy rains raised water levels in the area. Local media called this year’s flooding a “one-in-100-year deluge.”

On June 20, another spell of torrential rain inundated the North Island’s East Coast. Severe floods in Gisborne District have forced families to self-evacuate, and at least four roads in the district have been washed out or blocked by landslips.

On July 16, hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes as the Marlborough Region of New Zealand declared a state of emergency. Some areas recorded more than 300mm of rain within 48 hours, raising river levels. Officials say that this year’s flood has been the largest ever recorded in the region.

Simultaneously, the Buller district on the south island’s west coast declared a local state of emergency as heavy rains caused landslips and riverbanks to break, forcing two thousand residents to leave their homes.

The region had a similar experience with its neighbouring Marlborough district when 300mm of rain fell within just two days. The area suffered widespread damage, prompting the government to give affected communities $600,000 in emergency aid.

Talking to 1News, Associate Professor Asaad Shamseldin from the University of Auckland’s Civil and Environmental Engineering department says this flooding resulted from climate change and could be a “new norm.” His basic message is the need for community preparedness.

Shamseldin also explained that land-use changes magnify flood impacts. To be well-prepared for such extreme events, we need to reassess risks. The government and local communities should have a “very serious conversation” to define “acceptable risk” and plan for the future.

Shamseldin says that mitigating the impacts of flooding in New Zealand could include early warning, stopping banks, raising the floor level of houses, and relocation.

Extreme events around the world

While extreme events impact several regions across New Zealand, countries worldwide are also experiencing the same thing.

The record rainfall in western Europe that started on July 15 has turned into catastrophic flooding that claimed at least 195 lives in Germany and Belgium. Burst rivers and destructive flash floods collapsed houses, roads, and power lines.

Some blamed the German flood alert system for failing to communicate the dangers to its residents, resulting in many deaths and massive property and infrastructure damage.

However, the government responded that flood warning systems sent out alerts a few days before the heavy rains, and it is up to the local communities to decide how to respond to the warning.

Several towns in the southern Netherlands suffered damage from flooding on July 16. Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte says that the floods that swept the country and Europe are undoubtedly a result of climate change.

Rutte says that the first step in preventing future flood disasters is to give rivers space, which the country is already doing. The Dutch reshaped areas around the river after the major flooding in 1993 and 1995.

The heavy rains and flooding that hit Germany also came to Austria, causing flood alarms across Salzburg and Tyrol. The flood in Austria is described as a 50-year flood event.

BBC News published on July 5 that Edinburgh was hit with nearly half its average July rainfall in under an hour as storms flooded the city.

On July 12, Kew, London, received a month’s worth of rain in one day, causing flash floods in the district. The average rainfall in July is 44.5mm, but 47.8mm fell in just one day on a Monday morning. Residents were evacuated from their homes, train services were cancelled, and cars were submerged in water, the BBC reported.

And who could forget the landslide in Atami, Japan, after heavy rains hit the Shizuoka prefecture on July 3?

Climate change and extreme events

Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere is causing more extreme rainfall to occur.

According to a BBC article, average temperatures worldwide have already increased by 1.2°C since the industrial age, and they will continue to rise until governments drastically reduce their GHG emissions.

Professor Hannah Cloke, a hydrologist who set up and now advises the European Flood Awareness System, says that they see evidence that the storm that hit western Europe, an extreme one that brought lots of rain and was slow-moving, happens more often.

Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University, says climate change slows down the jet stream, leading to slower-moving storms. At the same time, a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture.

She says these extreme rainfall events will become more severe and more frequent, urging countries to redesign infrastructure systems to cope with them. In other words, climate adaptation and mitigation factors are needed in designing and constructing infrastructure.

It is also worth noting that the flooding in Western Europe, New Zealand, and Japan occurred after the Pacific Northwest experienced unprecedented heat waves.

PHOTO CREDIT:

Flooding in Kordel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany by Chz – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107631825

Marlborough District Council, New Zealand

Flood and damage in Tilff, Belgium on 16 July by Régine Fabri – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107637907

2021 Atami debris flow disaster by Copyright © National Land Image Information (Color Aerial Photographs), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107274804