Flood Risk Reduction & Safe City in a Middle-income Country (Iran)

Iran is one of the most hazardous countries with high level of casualty rate and high extent of financial and human losses; earthquake, drought, flood and numerous accidents are moresignificant. Flood cause serious shocks to the economy along with short term impacts and, if get repeated, cause long-term severe impacts on economic growth, development as well as investments. The incidence of flood is becoming increasingly common in Iran with substantialconsequences upon sustainable development in sectors of food security, livestock, agriculture, water resources, environment and hydro-electricity. Main causes of vulnerability to flood in Iraninclude: poor quality of construction of housing stock, buildings and infrastructure(particularly in rural areas),fragile natural environment,poor livestock and agriculture management practices, weak early warning systems, lack of awareness and education andpoverty. Population growth, urbanization, industrialization, the resultant environmentaldegradation and climate change/variability and gender power imbalances are working as major pressures behind the increasing vulnerability of Iran,s society and economy to disastersincluding flood. Flood risk reduction plan and enhancement of urban resistance should be able to developsafety culture. This could be achieved to the high extent by increasing awareness through public education programs and participation in activities related to urban sustainability. Also,it should be acknowledged that the promotion of safety in cities would definitely require acultural and management basis that needs long years of activity in these fields; as if, for the promotion of this index, the public awareness improvement plans should be implemented. Gaps, challenges, strengths and opportunities studied in this research and the main priorities for Flood risk management in Iran defined as:Institutional and Legal Arrangements/ Structure for Disaster Risk Management, National Hazard and Vulnerability Assessment, Training, Education and Awareness, Promoting Disaster Risk Management Planning, Community and Local Level Risk Reduction, Multi-hazard Early Warning System, Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development, Emergency Response System, and Capacity Development for Post Disaster Recovery.

کلیدواژه ها:

flood ، risk management ، financial losses ، safe city