Nausori vulnerable to climate change

Mary Rauto in the Fiji Times online: The protection of key infrastructure from climate change is important. Speaking at the opening of the baseline report presentation and vulnerability assessment for Nausori Urban and peri-urban area, Deputy Director Environment Aminiasi Qariqari said no nation, large or small, wealthy or poor, could escape the impact of climate change.



He said a team of consultants have been conducting research and assessing the Nausori area for its vulnerabilities to climate change, especially during extreme weather conditions. "The protection of key Infrastructure is vital as it supports or interconnects with other sectors within the Nausori urban center and peri-urban project area," he said.



"These other sectors also play a key role in the effects of climate change on the project area and also its exacerbation of climate change impacts." Mr Qariqari said Nausori or the Rewa delta was flood-prone and of concern was the impact of extreme floods on key infrastructure skeleton to the operational well-being of the population of Nausori, its surroundings and those who accessed it.



"The identification of these risks and vulnerable assets with appropriate implementation of adaptation plans before an extreme climatic event occurs would assist in the sustainable existence of the urban centre in the future," he said….



Taken by Merbabu in Fijian village of Navala in the Nausori Highlands in mid 2000, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic

Time to anticipate and adapt to climate change

Research & News at Vanderbilt: Despite the uncertainties surrounding climate change, it is time to start developing effective strategies that will keep the nation’s transportation systems and other critical infrastructure running in the face of the adverse impacts that seem increasingly likely to occur.



This consensus emerged from a two-day leadership summit that brought together major stakeholders from the $1 trillion-plus freight transportation sector with climate change researchers to discuss the issue for the first time. The meeting was held in June at Vanderbilt University and was sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Transportation Research (VECTOR), Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment (VIEE) and the University of Memphis’ Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute.



“It is increasingly clear that climate change will have potentially large impacts on the nation’s highways, railroads, waterways, airports and pipelines. In all likelihood, these impacts will increase in the future, so we have to learn how to plan ahead,” said George Hornberger, director of VIEE and distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Infrastructure damage on the rise



According to the University Center for Atmospheric Research, more than 75 percent of natural disasters are triggered directly or indirectly by weather and climate. In the U.S., more than a quarter of our gross national product (+$2 trillion) is sensitive to weather and climate events, which affect our health, safety, economy, environment, transportation systems and national security. Each year, the U.S. sustains billions of dollars in weather-related damages caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, flooding, heavy snows and drought. The threats associated with extreme weather and climate change are substantial and adapting to climate change will be crucial to economic and social stability, for example by making future water, food and energy supplies reliable and sustainable. Contributing to these costs is the problem of the nation’s aging infrastructure, which needs $2.2 trillion in improvements to meet today’s demands, according to the 2009 National Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society of Civil Engineers.



Unless the nation begins taking appropriate measures, these costs are likely to increase: “It appears to us that more extreme weather events – like floods and hurricanes – are becoming more frequent and pronounced and we need to be prepared to adapt to the prospect that what have been episodic events in the past become chronic features of our operational landscape in the future,” observed Craig Philip, Chief Executive Officer of the Ingram Barge Company and a member of the conference steering committee….



A FEMA photo from New Orleans, LA, August 30, 2005 -- Aerial view of some of the damage related to Hurricane Katrina the day after the hurricane hit August 29, 2005. This is the levee on the east or lower side of the Industrial Canal that has been damaged by the hurricane storm surge and/or the barge which hit the canal flood wall. The view is looking south to the Mississippi River. The Industrial Canal is in the foreground and the North Claiborne Avenue (SR39) bridge is in the right middle distance

Britons face insurance ‘crisis’ as UK trims flood defence

Ed Ballard in Bloomberg: ...Direct Line and Aviva Plc (AV/) are among British insurers threatening to tear up an agreement with the government that commits them to cover high-risk properties, even after claims rose threefold to 4.5 billion pounds in the last decade, because the U.K. is cutting spending on flood defenses. Smaller insurers not party to the so-called Statement of Principles are also cherry-picking low-risk homes and undercutting rivals, according to Aviva’s head of claims, Dominic Clayden.



...Britain’s coalition government is engaged in the biggest spending cuts since the Second World War to cut the country’s record budget deficit. It will reduce spending on flood defense to about 2.1 billion pounds over the next four years, from 2.36 billion pounds over the last four years, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.



Government projects range from the construction of concrete and metal barriers, to building pumping stations and replanting forests in floodplains. One plan to build a 150 million-pound barrier to protect the city of Leeds, England from the River Aire, is now unlikely to be fully funded by the government, according to the U.K.’s Environment Agency. That means “we may not be able to provide the same scale of defenses as originally planned,” the EA said. “Many schemes in areas at high risk will continue to receive full funding from government, whilst others will receive large contributions that will go a long way towards meeting the amount needed,” DEFRA said in an e-mailed statement.



...ABI members agreed to subsidize the insurance of risky properties until June 2013 by charging homeowners in safer areas more, according to the agreement. Homeowners in affected areas only pay 42 percent of the true cost of their insurance, according to data published by Axa SA (CS) last year. “While in force to 2013, the Statement of Principles is unsustainable for future use and was agreed under very different circumstances,” said Kate Syred, home commercial director of Direct Line in an e-mailed statement. “Since then our knowledge of flooding risk and its management is more advanced.”...



Some flooding at Victoria Station in London, shot by Frankie Roberto

Thames Water begins pipe replacement project near Olympic Park

Carys Matthews in edie.net: Thames Water is replacing century-old pipes near the Olympic Park in a bid to reduce leaks and bursts. The £630,000 project in Waltham Forest, London started last weekend (13 August) and will see the water company lay 1.8km of robust plastic piping in place of 100-year-old cast iron pipes.



As part of the project, which is expected to take around four months, pipes in Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, will initially be replaced before work can be done in other areas. According to Thames Water, the plastic pipes will significantly reduce the volume of water that is lost through leaks and help to avoid future disruption to services.



Thames Water's head of capital delivery, Lawrence Gosden, said: "The pipe we are replacing is old and leaky. Not only does this waste water, it also inconveniences people when we have to dig up the road and do repairs.



"While we apologise for the inevitable disruption work of this nature causes, replacing old and leaking mains is essential as our water resources come under increasing pressure from climate change and population growth."...



Construction in 2009 at what will be London's Olunder the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licenseympic Park, shot by Damien Everett, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr,