A Study on the urban flood response system

Abstract

Climate change and urbanization are accelerating the seriousness of urban flooding. Urban flooding is caused by a combination of urban characteristics, drainage systems, and land-use status. Preventive measures are important in terms of the fact that disasters in urban areas cause enormous human and property damages, and that the cost of restoration exceeds the amount of damage. This paper aims to contribute to improving city’s responsiveness to urban floods by investigating major causes of and suggesting improvement measures to urban flooding. It discusses a framework that highlights the three stages of disaster management (i.e., pre-, during, and post-disaster), including each stage’s main activities required and the importance of feedback systems across the stages. Using this framework, a case of urban flooding that took place in the summer of 2020 in Korea, which was recorded the longest rainy season in the country, was analyzed. Through the analysis, two main problems were identified: First, the capacity of urban flood defense facilities may be fundamentally insufficient due to abnormal precipitation exceeding expectations. Each time a rainfall record is updated, a flexible design standard should be prepared that comprehensively considers the climate, topography, and land-use status rather than unconditionally raising the design standard. Second, the response system to urban floods that occur repeatedly every year is unsatisfactory. Starting with the linkage of information distributed among each institution, the information system should be used as a means, not a purpose.