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42 A//tos fell easy prey to flash flood waters at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Misso//ri. When a severe storm brought 15 em (6 in) of rain in an 8 -hour period to the area in September 1977, residents were not coneemed. B//t when a second deluge 8 hours later brought another 15-18 em (6-7 in) of rain, residents were stunned. Wamed more than 10 ~ land use zoning to control development; ~ construction of dams, reservoirs, channel by- passes, levees, and other protective works; . restrictive development regulations to ensure that any development meets certain standards that take into consideration the threat to a sire; ~ land exchange, which might provide alrer- natives to development of vulnerable sites; ~ establishment of incentives to encourage de- velopment on safer sites and safer methods of construction (for example, favorable taxation, loans, and subsidies to those qualifying in terms of building methods or sites); ~ diversification of agricultural production, that is, identification and planting of flood-resistant crops and adjustment of planting season, if possible, to work around the flood season; . establishment of cash and food reserves; . reforestation, range management, and animal grazing controls to increase absorption and re- duce rapid runoff; and ~ construction of raised areas or buildings spec- ified as refuges when evacuation is impossible. Potential projects during the IDNHR include: . development of cost-effective, real-time flood warning systems readily adaptable for developing countries; ~ international technology transfer of computer models specifically designed for flood analysis, including models for the peak flood routing of riverine and flash floods down river channels, and models that delineate water surface profiles throughout the flood plain; hours in advance of the imminent risk of flash floods, many locals did not react in time to the rising waters. The result: 25 dead, many swept away in their cars while trying to flee. Improving community response to wamings is a key to limiting the potential for disaster. ~ research on the maximum probable rainfall and runoff in flood-prone areas; ~ international technology transfer of tech- niques and methods for the planning, design, and implementation of structural and non structural flood control works; and ~ establishment of international regional flood centers on the world's major rivers. VOLCANOES Volcanic eruptions have claimed more than 266,000 lives in the past 400 years. Fatalities occurred in about 5 percent of all eruptions; one out of six of the earth's active volcanoes has caused death. Because of the increasing popula- tion density on the planet, volcanic hazards are of growing concern. They are likely to take a greater toll in the future unless volcano hazard assessment and monitoring efforts and techniques improve. Volcanic activity is confined to well-defined geo- logic zones that are related to the unstable margins of crustal plates. Eruptions have immedi- ate catastrophic effects through ash falls, snrges of lethal gas, blasts, mudflows or lahars, and lava flows. The largest and most dangerous eruptions occur from volcanoes that lie dormant for hun- dreds of years between periods of activity. Con- sequently, their potential hazard is often ignored during planning and development of the sur- rounding region. Vesuvius, the volcano near Na- ples, Italy, and the Rabaul Caldera in Papua, New Guinea, are prime examples. In both instances,