Art, stories, and histories of rising floodwaters: an alternative knowledge on ‘lag time’
Topics:
Keywords: floods, lag time, art, stories, alternative knowledge
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract
Authors:
Ayesha Siddiqi, University of Cambridge
Martha Bell, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
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Abstract
This research opens up a hard science concept in hazards research known as “lag time” for critical analysis through lived experience and local knowledges. Primarily understood in hydrology as the period of time (in min and hrs) that elapses between the peak of rainfall and the peak of runoff discharge (Marchi et al., 2010) (Creutin et al., 2013), this project brings in perspectives of those living through a flooding disaster rather than simply the mathematical calculation. Drawing on research conducted on large-scale flooding that affected the north coast of Peru in 2017, the findings from this project illustrate while the hydrology models are able to accurately calculate pluvial ‘lag time’ in the study area, fluvial ‘lag time’ needs a more in-depth understanding of the power, politics and agendas that result in breaks/breaches in some river embankments over others. Through a series of stories, locally produced art, mapping exercises and ethnographic research this project explores why the ‘lag time’ in a flooded area is not a quantifiable value but a highly interpretive understanding of the cultural-politics in society.
Art, stories, and histories of rising floodwaters: an alternative knowledge on ‘lag time’
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Paper Abstract