ABOUT CONFERENCE

Climate change has caused more frequent, severe heavy rainfall events, causing human and economic damage. Large-scale urbanization, population increase in flood-prone areas, deforestation, climate change, and increasing sea levels will leave more people exposed to hazardous floods. Extreme weather and climate can devastate societies and the environment. A third of the planet’s landmass is arid or semi-arid. These regions are prone to flash floods due to localized convective rainfall and poor soil development. Flash floods vary by climate and have a short response time between rainfall and stream network discharge peak due to their short duration, narrow area, strong downpours, high flood peaks, and quick flows. Flash floods have large socio-economic repercussions due to their abrupt onset. Moreover, flash flood forecasting is difficult in the arid and semi-arid regions due to the lack of hydrological and meteorological data. Floods in wadis, on the other hand, are an important source of water, especially for groundwater recharge. Flash flood hazard assessment is hampered by a paucity of monitoring and observational data. Thus, flash flood research is becoming increasingly important. By cascading natural hazards, combined events can worsen the situation. Compound hydrometeorological extremes including floods, surges, droughts, heat waves, soil erosion, and sedimentation pose huge risks to people and properties.  Understanding compound hydrometeorological extremes helps us mitigate and adapt. Flood impacts may worsen if we don’t learn from the lessons and improve society resilience. Climate resilience and disaster prevention must supplement emergency response. This requires looking beyond the next flood or storm to understand long-term climate vulnerabilities to prepare for and adapt to future weather extremes and other climate consequences through disaster risk reduction initiatives. Scientists, practitioners, and citizens from local, regional, and worldwide organizations—public or private—must work together to solve these complex disasters.

Since its inception in Japan in 2015, the International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems (ISFF) has been touring MENA nations such as Egypt, Oman, Morocco, Jordan, and Algeria. The Eighth International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems (ISFF8) is organized by the National Water and Energy Center, UAE University, on November 4-5, 2024. The two-day symposium will take place in Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates, on the campus of the UAE University. This version will convene on the theme “Flash Floods, Water Harvesting, and Groundwater Recharge Potentials”.

ISFF8 will assist the community in strengthening the network, promoting actions, raising awareness, ensuring coordination and collaboration, establishing common goals and targets, monitoring progress, and taking effective measures to address a variety of flood-related issues. The event will address flash flood knowledge gaps, including the lack of access to the latest information and technology needed to generate effective warnings, and promote worldwide development and collaboration. The event will provide hydrological modelers, operational forecasters, and disaster management agencies with cutting-edge knowledge, technologies, and advice products on small-scale flash floods.

ISFF8 will focus on groundwater recharge and climate change and water-related hazards such flash floods and sediment disasters.

It will be an opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, research, and lessons learned from recent flood and sediment disasters and successful groundwater recharge attempts form flood water.

This symposium is a premier forum for researchers, experts, engineers, practitioners, planners, managers, and decision makers to discuss and share recent advances in science, technology, modeling, and practices for better water-related disaster risk management and climate adaptation policies. Keynote speeches, oral presentations, and poster sessions exhibiting contemporary innovations and research discoveries will address flood-related issues across the two-day event. Pre-conference interactive workshops will cover present and future challenges and potential for change, as well as flash flood technologies and methods.

Continuing to share knowledge, experiences and lessons learned by all participants, ISFF8 organizers welcome presentations from all relevant fields.