Third International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems
Schedule:5 – 7 December 2017
Place:German University of technology (GUtech), Muscat, Oman
URL:https://www.gutech.edu.om/third-international-symposium-flash-floods-wadi-systems-held-gutech-5-7-december/
The Third International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems
Disaster Risk Reduction and Water Harvesting in the Arab Region
Flash floods which are caused by extreme weather conditions have created severe damages to the infrastructure and agriculture in recent years in many parts of the world including the Sultanate of Oman. The Third International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems entitled “Disaster Risk Reduction and Water Harvesting in the Arab Region” will be held between the 5-7 December at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) in Halban.
“Our international symposium aims at creating awareness about flash floods and increase research in efficient flash flood forecasting through hydrological models that predict rainfall and runoff processes and simulate the flood routing,” said Prof. Dr. Ekkehard Holzbecher, Hydrologist at GUtech, who is heading the local organizing committee of the symposium. The Symposium is held in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources in the Sultanate of Oman, Water Resource Research Center in Kyoto (Japan), the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GDRAI) of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University.
According to the researchers, their occurrence is highly random. “Because of climate change, flash floods will occur more frequently in future. Therefore, there is an urgent need for further flash flood protection and risk reduction. In addition, the rain water can be harvested and used for example for agricultural purposes. This has been done in other parts of the world, e.g. in Africa,” said Prof. Dr. Ekkehard Holzbecher.
In previous years the Symposium was held in Kyoto (Japan) and in Campus El Gouna (Egypt). Around one hundred experts from all over the world are expected to attend the symposium, that will also include a Training Workshop on “Flow and Sediment Transport Modelling in Rivers and Wadi System using TELEMAC 2D and 3D numerical codes”.
The International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), COMSOL, Hölscher Wasserbau GmbH, Al Bustan Construction and Gulf Lake are the silver sponsors of the symposium. For further details and registration please check out the conference website: http://issf2017.gutech.edu.om/or contact ISFF2017@gutech.edu.om.
23 – 25 October 2017
German University of Technology in Oman, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Supported by: Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI), DPRI, Kyoto University
Why you should attend
In recent years, flash floods in Wadi systems have caused severe damages, especially in the Arab regions. Human life, infrastructure such as roads and buildings as well as the environment are endangered and have been heavily destroyed. Flash floods are caused by extreme weather conditions, their occurrence is highly random and the associated problems are expected to increase in the near future due to climate change. On the one hand, there is an urgent need for flash flood protection and risk reduction, furthermore, this rainwater can also be considered as a new resource for water harvesting.
Finding solutions to these challenging problems requires close collaboration between scientists – established as well as young ones, - practitioners, and stakeholders from federal and public organizations. So we encourage you to contribute to the development of future solutions and to widen your own expertise and profile by attending the international symposium.
This event is the third in a new series of annual International Symposiam on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems. Furthermore this symposium is supported by the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) and the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GARDI) of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan. The First International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems held in October 2015 in Kyoto, Japan, was attended by about one hundred scientists, practitioners and stake holders from 11 countries (Japan, Arab Region, Europe; see http://ecohyd.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/index/1.html). The Second Symposium was held in Technische Universität Berlin, Campus El Gouna, Egypt. The Third International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems will consist of oral and poster presentations.
Symposium Themes: Flash Floods in Wadi Systems
- Innovative approaches, modelling, forecasting, and climate changes
- Risk assessment, management and reduction.
- Water and sediment management, harvesting
- Society, Ecosystem and Environment UNESCO session: urgent capacity development for managing natural disaster risks of flash floods in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Sudan and Yemen.
- Decision making, policy, governance, and development
Location: Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Muscat is the capital city with usually cold climate during December; approximately 27oC in the day and 15oC at night. Omani Rials, Credit Cards and USD are acceptable in Muscat. The exchange rate is approximately 1 Omani Rial to 2,61 USD or 2.32 Euro as of September 2016. For more information on Oman, visit the website
http://www.oman.org,on GUtech http://www.gutech.edu.om.