| FRIAR 2008 |
International Conference on Flood Recovery, Innovation and Response
Overview The first International Conference on Flood Recovery, Innovation and Response (FRIAR/08) took place recently at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London, co-organised by the University of Wolverhampton and the Wessex Institute of Technology. The Conference book was co-edited by Prof David Proverbs (University of Wolverhampton); Professor Carlos Brebbia (Wessex Institute of Technology); and Professor Edmund Penning-Rowsell (Middlesex University). The Conference was endorsed by the UK based Flood Regions Network, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjustors (CILA). Flooding is a global phenomenon that claims numerous lives worldwide each year. In addition, many more people must endure the homelessness, disease and crop failures that are left in the wake of floods. The increased frequency of flooding in the last few years, coupled with climate change predictions and urban development, suggests that these statistics are set to worsen in the future. When flooding occurs in populated areas, it can cause substantial damage to property as well as threatening human life. Apart from the physical damage to buildings, contents and loss of life, which are the most obvious impacts of floods upon households, other more indirect losses are often overlooked. These intangible impacts are generally associated with disruption to normal life as well as longer term health issues including stress related illness. The conference provided a forum for researchers, academics and practitioners actively involved in improving the repair, reinstatement and resilience of flood damaged property. The meeting brought together engineers, scientists and other professionals from many countries involved in research and development activities in a wide range of technical and management topics related to flooding and its devastating effects. The meeting was opened by Professor David Proverbs who spoke about the background of the Conference and how rewarding it was for the organisers to see that the initiative was successful. The number and quality of the papers was exceptionally high as demonstrated by the contents of the conference book. This will ensure that the meeting is reconvened in two years’ time.  Professor Carlos Brebbia, Director of Wessex Institute (WIT) spoke next, pointing out the importance of conferences like FRIAR for the Institute’s objectives. WIT aims to act as a mechanism for knowledge transfer at an international level and conferences like FRIAR are important in this regard. Professor Brebbia also mentioned that the conference book is widely distributed and the book and its contents are archived in the eLibrary of WIT Press, the publishing arm of WIT, where they are permanently and easily available to the international community. Professor Brebbia also referred to the interest of WIT in developing strong links with other research institutions. WIT participates in numerous international projects and programmes, collaborating with other institutions in PhD training for instance, as well as a variety of research topics. The contribution of WIT is in the field of computational modelling, an area in which the Institute is well known around the world as a developer of a series of innovative techniques. Professor Brebbia ended his welcoming address by thanking all the participants for their contribution and in particular the members of the International Scientific Advisory Committee who helped select the papers published in the conference book, hence ensuring the quality of the meeting. Keynote Address Professor Brebbia then introduced the keynote speaker, Mr Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health of the Association of British Insurers, who spoke about the UK Insurers approach to Flood Risk. Nick explained the magnitude of the problem and the risks involved in the UK, stressing the need for information and understanding of risk. Informed consumers and informal government organisations will achieve workable future policies. He referred to the work the Insurance industry carries out with the UK Government to cover flood insurance in cases where considerable risk exists. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion as the participants were most interested in the UK approach to Flood Risk and how the different parties work together. Conference TopicsThe Conference programme consisted of a series of papers grouped under the following topics:
Invited PresentationsThe Conference sessions were enhanced by a series of invited presentations:
Benefits of AttendingOf particular interest were two special sessions, organised as follows:
Another important special session on Flood Risk Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment was the one organised by the Group led by Professor Daniele De Wrachien from the University of Milano. The papers dealt with a wide variety of risk analysis and vulnerability problems, and included specific applications for several regions in Italy. An important part of the session dealt with the definition of topography and the type of hydraulic models most appropriate for flood analysis. International Scientific Committee
Publication of PapersThe proceedings of Flood Recovery, Innovation and Response, 368 pp (ISBN: 1-84564-132-0) are available in hard back from WIT Press priced at £121/US$242/€181.50. Orders can be placed by telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223, fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853, e-mail:
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or via the WIT Press web site at: www.witpress.com |
2 - 3 July 2008 
The International Scientific Advisory Committee met over dinner to discuss the progress of the Conference and propose ways to improve the meeting in 2010 when it is to be reconvened. Different topics were proposed as well as several names nominated for the Committee. There was general agreement that the 2010 meeting should be held in another European location, trying to attract an even more international audience. FRIAR 2008
| Proceedings |
| WIT eLibrary |
| Next Conference |
Organisers
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Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
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| University of Wolverhampton, UK
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Sponsor
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WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment |
Conference Chairmen
D ProverbsUniversity of Wolverhampton, UK
C A Brebbia
Wessex Institute of Technology,UK
E Penning-Rowsell
Flood Hazard Research Centre, University of Middlesex, UK
International Scientific Advisory Committee
K AlhussanKing Abdulaziz City, Sci. & Tech., Saudi Arabia
C Booth
University of Wolverhampton, UK
D De Wrachien
University of Milan, Italy
H Hashimoto
Kyushu University, Japan
M Holicky
CTU Prague, Czech Republic
G Holzinger
Torrent and Avalanche Control, Austria
G Jager
Forest Tech Service, Austria
F C B Mascarenhas
UFRJ-COPPE, Brazil
M Moser
Forest Tech Service, Austria
A Sole
University of Basilicata, Italy
M Takezawa
Nihon University, Japan
A Thieken
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Germany
K Toda
Kyoto University, Japan
F Vinet
University Paul Valery, France
S Wilkinson
University of Auckland, New Zealand
C Zevenbergen
DuraVermeer Group NV, The Netherlands
2008 Conferences
Wessex Institute of Technology
Wessex Institute of Technology
Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)238 029 3223 Fax: +44 (0)238 029 2853 Email: wit@wessex.ac.uk