ABSTRACT
Flooding incidents in urbanised catchments can lead to much public concern and anxiety; the economical impact is severe. Non-structural approaches for urban flood mitigation have been adopted as structural approaches have proven to offer only partial solutions. New approaches to the accommodation of floods are needed in order to create robust and sustainable solutions that can cope with the ever-increasing urban pressure on flood-prone areas and the uncertainties created by climate change. Decision makers need to assess the risk as well as the cost and benefit of alternative strategies addressing different spatial scales such as zoning controls, regulation of construction on flood plains, flood proofing, flood insurance, embankments, flood diversion channels and real-time monitoring. Mechanisms for increasing the capacity of local and state authorities and nongovernmental organisations to analyse urban flood impacts and formulate strategies should be developed and implemented.
