Vízügyi Közlemények, 1996 (78. évfolyam)

1. füzet - Bodnár Gáspár: A védekezési munkák szervezése a Felső-Tiszán és mellékfolyóin

68 Bodnár G. to 118 settlements of nearly 200,000 total population. Flood hydrographs, which had been launched on the western slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, arrived extremely rapidly to the country border, leaving little time for the organization of flood defence, as the rate of water level rise was as high as 8—10 m in 1—2 days. Consequently it is necessary to have a well organized and prepared agency that elaborates defence plans in the periods of "peace" and performs the related technical and administrative activities. In the case of flood defence in the Upper Tisza River basin the flood-warning and forecasting system and the adjoining up-to-date information system has special significance in facilitating the rapid and continuous correction of the preliminarily prepared defence plan and in mobilizing the rapidly responding defence organization and the participating other agencies. Financial resources available at the present for the water authority enable only the provision of the professional management of flood defence operations, and the man-power and technical facilities should be secured from other organizations agencies in advance. In the case of the flood of December 1995 rapid increase of the temperature associated with heavy rainfall resulted in the extremely rapid development of the flood wave and the defence organization had to be mobilized within very short period of time. Forecasts indicated that in the vicinity of Vásárosnamény water levels of the Tisza river might reach or even exceed by 0.4-0.5 m the ever measured highest level. Considering the level of protection provided by the existing levee system (less than desirable height and cross-section area at some locations) the authorities had to order "emergency flood-defence preparedness" (Fig. 3.). In addition to the mobilized staff of the water authority recruitment of external forces (manpower and machinery) became necessary (Fig. 2.). Although the majority of control actions was performed by the defence-crops of the water authority the total number of the defence staff that fought the flood along the levees, was nearly 1,400 of which only 208 were the employee of the water authority. The flood had caused considerable damages to the channels and river training works (Fig. 4.), hydraulic structures and to the defence forces (Fig. 5.). Experiences gained with the defence operations have been evaluated by all participating agencies and they will utilize these in making preparations for the future defence operations. A near-future task is to elaborate, on the basis of new legislations and new flood defence experiences, a harmonized plan of defence. In this plan the basic principle is that the water authority provides for the management of the technical operations of flood defence and the organs of the state administration provide all possible means for securing the success of flood defence. Simultaneously all participants shall make preparations for combatting a potentially occurring catastrophe. Summarizing, one can consider these defence operations successful ones (Fig. 6.) and the activities of the defence organization proved to be efficient ones, which latter was due not only to the management activities during the flood defence but also to preliminary activities that were aimed at the improvement of the organization and at the harmonization of the work of participating units.