Evolution of Floods: From Ancient Times to the Present Times (ca 7600 BC to the Present) and the Future

Andreas N. Angelakis (), Andrea G. Capodaglio, Mohammad Valipour, Jens Krasilnikoff, Abdelkader T. Ahmed, Laila Mandi, Vasileios A. Tzanakakis (), Alper Baba, Rohitashw Kumar, Xiaoyun Zheng, Zhang Min, Mooyoung Han, Bashiru Turay, Esra Bilgiç and Nicholas Dercas
Additional contact information
Andreas N. Angelakis: School of History and Culture, Hubei University, Wuhan 430061, China
Andrea G. Capodaglio: Department of Civil Engineering & Architecture, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Mohammad Valipour: Department of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO 80217, USA
Jens Krasilnikoff: Department of History and Classical Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Abdelkader T. Ahmed: Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic University of Madinah, Medina 42351, Saudi Arabia
Laila Mandi: National Center for Studies and Research on Water and Energy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech P.O. Box 511, Morocco
Vasileios A. Tzanakakis: Department of Agriculture, School of Agricultural Science, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Iraklion, Greece
Alper Baba: Department of International Water Resources, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir 35430, Türkiye
Rohitashw Kumar: College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, SKUAST—Kashmir, Srinagar 190025, India
Xiaoyun Zheng: School of History and Culture, Hubei University, Wuhan 430061, China
Zhang Min: School of History and Culture, Hubei University, Wuhan 430061, China
Mooyoung Han: Institute of Construction and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
Bashiru Turay: Department of Geography, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Esra Bilgiç: Department of Civil Engineering, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir 35430, Türkiye
Nicholas Dercas: Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering Department, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-52

Abstract: Floods are one of the most dangerous natural disasters, causing great destruction, damage, and even fatalities worldwide. Flooding is the phenomenon of a sudden increase or even slow increase in the volume of water in a river or stream bed as the result of several possible factors: heavy or very long precipitation, melting snowpack, strong winds over the water, unusually high tides, tsunamis, or the failure of dams, gages, detention basins, or other structures that hold back water. To gain a better understanding of flooding, it is necessary to examine evidence, search for ancient wisdom, and compare flood-management practices in different regions in a chronological perspective. This study reviews flood events caused by rising sea levels and erratic weather from ancient times to the present. In addition, this review contemplates concerns about future flood challenges and possible countermeasures. Thus, it presents a catalogue of past examples in order to present a point of departure for the study of ancient floods and to learn lessons for preparation for future flood incidents including heavy rainfalls, particularly in urbanized areas. The study results show that ancient societies developed multifaceted technologies to cope with floods and many of them are still usable now and may even represent solutions and measures to counter the changing and increasingly more erratic weather of the present.

Keywords: flood management; heavy rainfall; streamflow; urbanized areas; dams; stormwater; paleofloods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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