Pluvial flooding and flood rescues in Rowan County, NC : an analysis of 9-1-1 call data for years 2011 - 2021
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Jamie Ariail Watkins (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Sarah Praskievicz
Abstract: Flooding is the most widespread and costly natural disaster worldwide. The effects of climate change and development are expected to significantly increase losses of life and property due to flooding over the next century. While coastal and riverine flooding are well understood and their attendant flood risk zones mapped, flash flooding events in urban areas are not as well understood or mapped. In the years 2018 and 2020, Rowan County Emergency Services responded to record numbers of flood rescue calls due to pluvial flooding. This paper examines 9-1-1 call data in Rowan County from 2011 through 2021. Patterns in call frequency, spatial distribution, meteorological conditions, and changes in land use patterns were analyzed to better understand the evolving nature of flood rescue calls in Rowan County in hopes of building community resilience and sustainability. A combination of record rainfall events and clearing of land for development were found to have contributed to the increase in call volume for flood rescues. The spatial distribution of calls was found to be much more dispersed in the later portion of the study period than observed in the earlier portion of the study. Additionally, the length of time from the when the first call was received to when the last call came in was longer in the later portions of the study. Greater rainfall increased impervious surface, and decreased evapotranspiration capacity may have contributed to flooding events that stretched over two and three days in the later portions of the study period.
Pluvial flooding and flood rescues in Rowan County, NC : an analysis of 9-1-1 call data for years 2011 - 2021
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Created on 5/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- 9-1-1 Call Data Mapping, Climate Change, Emergency Management, Sustainability, Swiftwater Rescue, Urban Flooding
- Subjects
- Floods $z North Carolina $z Rowan County
- Telephone $x Emergency reporting systems