Flood hazard in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka: Individual attitudes vs collective action
Abstract In Ratnapura monsoonal flooding is a chronic problem of which the residents are acutely aware. Responses to structured interviews indicated that a wide range of actions are employed to reduce flood impact, although these actions are not perceived as specific adjustments to flooding. The only widely acknowledged means of mitigating the flood threat is government action. Dependency on government action reflects the government's role in dispensing aid to flood victims. While relief programmes do reduce personal, short-term losses, they simultaneously encourage resettlement in high-risk areas. In seeking a viable, long-term management policy, the Sri Lankan government recently adopted a plan to move the municipality of Ratnapura to invulnerable high ground. In making the decision to relocate, however, the attitudes of the residents were not evaluated, and government officials seemed unconcerned that residents viewed relocation as an unacceptable solution to the problem. Although individual attitudes concerning residential satisfaction in the context of the flood hazard varied with factors such as income, length of residency and land tenure, an overwhelming number of residents adamantly maintained that they would not move to the new town.
Flood risk analysis using fuzzy models
Risk is a combination of the factors that determine vulnerability and exposure potential for people to a hazard. The computation of flood extents and the identification of vulnerable elements help to determine high‐risk zones due to floods in advance, which helps to take mitigatory measures effectively and efficiently. This study examines how effectively the risk with respect to floods can be assessed using a fuzzy approach taking the frequently flooding Kalu‐Ganga River basin in Sri Lanka as the study area. Flood extent for a 100‐year return period rainfall was determined using Hydrologic Engineering Center's Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC‐HMS)‐ and HEC‐River Analysis System‐based models. Flood extent and mean flood depth were taken as hazard indicators while population density and dependency ratio were used as vulnerability indicators. Based on these indicators, flood risk was determined for the lowest administrative divisions within the inundated area using conventional risk assessment approaches. A methodology was proposed and applied to assess risk assuming the above indicators as fuzzy variables. Comparison of the results obtained from the two approaches indicates the proposed fuzzy‐based method, which takes uncertainty in the determination of hazard, vulnerability and risk levels into account, as providing more accurate results.
Same Same But Different - also in Europe! A New Methodological Approach in Cross-Country Analysis of Communication Structuresapplied to five EU member states
The EU still lacks a truly European public sphere. On this level, there is still a clear lack of integration between individual member states. This means that national public spheres and cultures are still of great importance for European communication and media professionals. Comparative research into the similarities and differences between different nations is therefore valuable for cross-border PR communication activities. This paper lays out the methodological foundation for such research, discussing possible approaches and difficulties associated with comparative research. The author then introduces a potential heuristic framework for comparative analysis: the International Corporate Communication Compass. This framework is applied to five case-study EU countries (Denmark, Germany, France, Poland and the UK), showing the differences and similarities in a range of different contexts that affect public communication in all its forms. The conclusion examines how the results of such studies could be used in order to compare communication identities of different countries. This can potentially help in the development of a European public identity on the long run and in a first step can led towards a better, more adapted communication structure about European citizenship. Ultimately, communication structures within the EU might become more Europeanized than they