Author(s): Yizhong Qu; Edward Beighley; Jeffrey Mccollum
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Regional hydraulic modeling; Flood modeling; Flood maps; Flood insurance; Engineering-based solutions
Abstract: Flood hazard maps (flood maps) are critical to evaluate flood risk and develop mitigation measures. However, the methods applied, attributes and quality of current flood maps vary significantly from region to region. Due to recent severe floods and their devastating consequences, activities supporting the development of reliable flood maps have increased significantly in both public and private sectors. In this paper, we discuss the demands and challenges in flood hazard mapping from an engineering-based perspective. To overcome those challenges and meet the demands, a solution using regional hydraulic modeling is developed. The approach uses commonly available datasets, such as Digital Terrain Models (DTM) and river discharge records at gauging stations. It includes automated geo-spatial dataset processing tools to derive a very dense river network, and the associated characteristics and parameters required by the hydrologic and hydraulic models. The peak river discharges of specified recurrence intervals are estimated using regional flood frequency methods for large rivers and a combination of statistical and hydrological modeling for small rivers. Hydraulic modeling is used to transform estimated peak discharges to flood levels along all river reaches. Finally, a flood inundation mapping process is introduced to derive flood maps. Our approach was implemented in a large river basin in Europe and the resulting flood map was compared with existing data.
Year: 2013