What can be dangerous about water

1. What can be dangerous about water
Kavala, Greece
4o Junior High School

2. 1. Man-made floods
A debate around the world is that nature is to
blame for natural hazards while one section
says that man causes or triggers these hazards
by deforestation and pollution.
One of the nature's most turbulent years was
1998. Floods created chaos in North America,
South America, Asia and Europe. Though the
El Nino and La Nina were thought to be
responsible, scientists have now found out that
these factors combined with human activities
made the disasters more severe.

3. How are floods caused by man? Here are the most important reasons:
• The rapid urbanization leads to more concrete surfaces that seal the surface
and do not allow water to seep in.
•Changing the size of the rivers basin and the flood plain affects the severity of
floods.
•Finally deforestation and global warming are considered to be two of the
main man-made causes for floods.

4. In Mandra, Athens, a flood killed 24 people in 2018 . Houses, shops, and vehicles
were destroyed as well. The most critical element in the development of the
phenomenon was not only heavy rainfall, but also an equal volume of soil
drained by the water ending up to a huge amount of mud.
photos from the flood in Mandra

5. 2. Dirty-drinking water
Safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether it is
used for drinking, domestic use, food production or recreational purposes.
Improved water supply, sanitation and better management of water resources
can boost countries’ economic growth.

6. Here are some interesting statistics about water safety:
•785 million people lack even a basic drinking-water service.
•At least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces.
•Contaminated drinking water causes 485 000 diarrheal deaths each year.
•By 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.
•In least developed countries 22% of health care facilities have no water service.

7. At the beginning of the year, measurements of
the Environmental Pollution Control
Laboratory of the Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki showed that drinking water
from eight settlements of the Municipality of
Polykastro in Kilkis contained high
concentrations of dangerous substances such
as arsenic and nitric oxide.

8. What can we do?
Re-use of wastewater to recover water, nutrients, or energy is becoming an
important strategy. While this practice if done inappropriately poses health
risks, safe management of wastewater can bring multiple benefits, including
increased food production.

9. 3.Drowning
Drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide,
accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths.

10. Risk factors
Age: Drowning is one of the top 5 causes of death for people aged 1–14 years for
48 of 85 countries .
Gender: Males are especially at risk of drowning. This is due to increased
exposure to water and riskier behaviour such as swimming alone.
Access to water: Individuals with occupations such as commercial fishing in
small boats are more prone to drowning.

11. ….more risk factors
Travelling on water. Migrants or asylum seekers often travel on overcrowded,
unsafe vessels.
Flood disasters. Drowning accounts for 75% of deaths in flood disasters.
Particularly in low- and middle-income countries the ability to warn, evacuate,
or protect communities from floods is weak.

12. Other risk factors are:
•children left unsupervised
•alcohol use near or in the water
•medical conditions, such as epilepsy
•tourists unfamiliar with local water risks and features

13. What can we do?
Developing a national water safety strategy can raise awareness of safety around
water. Constructions planned with water safety in mind, education for floods
and proper legislation could reduce drowning incidents.

14. Thank you all!
Elpida Sidiropoulou
Konstantina Ischnopoulou