International perspectives on engaging the public to anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change (flooding)

For many years flood stories are documented around the world as history or
legend in almost every region on the planet. Flooding can turn even the most
harmless looking watercourse into a raging torrent of large scale destruction
where any structures may prove no obstacle to its power, it may ruin many
crops which can lead to starvation and take away many people’s lives. Many
governments and international organisations have devised regulations and
management structures to cope with flooding. Although, many nations carry
out actions that are related to elimination or reduction of the probability of
the occurrence or reduction of the effects from unavoidable disasters the lack
of incorporation of the local conditions and vulnerabilities act as a hindrance
to their success. This bespeaks the need to include local knowledge and skills
from specific communities in disaster prevention activities. Hence, in order to
gain an understanding on the international perspectives on flood prevention,
this section of the report outlines the challenges that local authorities face,
the concept of public engagement which has gained its importance in recent
past and its applicability. The report further outlines the ways of achieving
community engagement in flood prevention by bringing forward the solutions
adopted by different countries and finally it identifies three case studies
illustrating good practice on community engagement in flood prevention.