Analysis of Flood Fatalities–Slovenian Illustration

Abstract

Floods not only induce vast economic damages but also pose a great danger to human life. In Slovenia, floods rank number one on the scale of damage magnitude. Different factors external to the hazard of flooding influence the gravity and extent of the impacts. A comprehensive collection and analysis of the information related to the understanding of causative factors of human impacts can substantially contribute to the mitigation and the minimisation of fatalities and injuries. In this work, historical analysis was performed for flood fatalities in the years between 1926 and 2014, with 10 flood events that induced 74 casualties considered. A detailed collection and review on human impacts was made. Victims in cars have seemed to increase in recent years and rural areas tend to be more vulnerable and susceptible to having victims of flooding. With regards to gender, the majority of victims are male. The focus was on demographic aspects (age and gender) of fatalities and analysis of the circumstances of loss of life. Based on a description of the activities of victims during flood events and repetitive patterns, groups were made based on the type of flood fatality. Eight interviews were performed with rescuers and people who were affected by floods in order to obtain more extensive information on preventative measures, received help, and flood risk perception. different aspects of the topic [5]. Different angles of loss of life analysis contribute to the understanding of important factors, which influence the vulnerability and exposure of individuals and groups on a global level with cultural diversity. Furthermore, these different angles represent the variety of contextual emphasis in the areas of flood fatalities that have been studied.Existing analyses focus on a global scale [6][7][8], discuss fatalities in the context of health impacts [9], investigate circumstances of loss of life [10][11][12][13][14][15], study mortality in flash flood events in the US [16], and analyse vehicle flood fatalities [17].The complexity of the factors that contribute to loss of life probability implies a need for a different, interdisciplinary approach that is emphasised by Gruntfest and Handmer [18] and has been applied in studies [10,19]. Furthermore, Creutin et al. [20] have pointed out the importance of collaboration between hydrologists and social scientists and have set the groundwork that is needed for solving complex problems and for effective decision-making. The results of analyses increasingly display the relationship of distribution and correlation of flood fatalities with physical vulnerability as well as with social vulnerability. Studies of flood fatalities in general relate to demographic data (gender, age, and ethnic groups), circumstances of loss of life, and evaluation of geographic, temporal, and hydrological parameters and their interplay with societal factors [7,10,19,21]. For example, Vinet et al. [22] studied flash floods over the period 1988-2015 and showed that 50% of fatalities happened in a small water...

Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019

“…Different data and other approaches to analysis have been utilized. Taking into account the outstanding heat waves of 2003, 2006, 2010, 2013, and 2015-2018 from references, a noticeable peak in our database of fatalities appeared in 2006and only two, in 2013.…”

“…For example, without reference to fatalities, only case studies related to hoar-frost or glaze-ice situations (e.g. Sulan, 2006;Zahradníček et al, 2018) or damage to road networks caused by natural disasters (Bíl et al, 2015) are available.…”

Vehicle-Related Flood Fatalities in Texas, 1959–2019

“…The age group of 80 and above is the group that has the lowest male (14) and female fatalities (8). Male victims are significantly more (42) and female (25), as seen in Figure 8. The age group of 80 and above is the group that has the lowest male (14) and female fatalities (8).…”

“…Storm Data provided information on the ages of individuals involved in 382 (67%) of the vehiclerelated flood fatalities. The age group of 20-29 years covers the most vehicle-related flood fatalities for both male victims (42) and female (25), as seen in Figure 8. The age group of 80 and above is the group that has the lowest male (14) and female fatalities (8).…”

“…About 38.5% of all flood fatalities with reported details happened across flooded creeks, bridge, and roads and 31.5% of all flood fatalities were people trapped in a building or camp. Adults and the elderly tend to be more vulnerable, especially in light of the growth of the elderly population in most countries [25]. When people are trapped inside vehicles in floodwaters, moving waters may sweep vehicles off the road, depending on the water depth and velocity, which are usually underestimated by drivers [26].…”