scholarly journals A Multimethod Approach towards Assessing Urban Flood Patterns and Its Associated Vulnerabilities in Singapore

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winston T. L. Chow ◽  
Brendan D. Cheong ◽  
Beatrice H. Ho
Keyword(s):  
Flash Flood ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Infrastructural Development ◽  
Damage Claims ◽  
Multimethod Approach ◽  
City State

We investigated flooding patterns in the urbanised city-state of Singapore through a multimethod approach combining station precipitation data with archival newspaper and governmental records; changes in flash floods frequencies or reported impacts of floods towards Singapore society were documented. We subsequently discussed potential flooding impacts in the context of urban vulnerability, based on future urbanisation and forecasted precipitation projections for Singapore. We find that, despite effective flood management, (i) significant increases in reported flash flood frequency occurred in contemporary (post-2000) relative to preceding (1984–1999) periods, (ii) these flash floods coincide with more localised, “patchy” storm events, (iii) storms in recent years are also more intense and frequent, and (iv) floods result in low human casualties but have high economic costs via insurance damage claims. We assess that Singapore presently has low vulnerability to floods vis-à-vis other regional cities largely due to holistic flood management via consistent and successful infrastructural development, widespread flood monitoring, and effective advisory platforms. We conclude, however, that future vulnerabilities may increase from stresses arising from physical exposure to climate change and from demographic sensitivity via rapid population growth. Anticipating these changes is potentially useful in maintaining the high resilience of Singapore towards this hydrometeorological hazard.

Using convection-permitting climate models and a high-resolution distributed hydrological model to assess future changes in Alpine flash floods.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjanne Zander ◽  
Pety Viguurs ◽  
Frederiek Sperna Weiland ◽  
Albrecht Weerts
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Climate Dynamics ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
European Climate

<p>Flash Floods are damaging natural hazards which often occur in the European Alps. Precipitation patterns and intensity may change in a future climate affecting their occurrence and magnitude. For impact studies, flash floods can be difficult to simulate due the complex orography and limited extent & duration of the heavy rainfall events which trigger them. The new generation convection-permitting regional climate models improve the intensity and frequency of heavy precipitation (Ban et al., 2021).</p><p>Therefore, this study combines such simulations with high-resolution distributed hydrological modelling to assess changes in flash flood frequency and occurrence over the Alpine terrain. We use the state-of-the-art Unified Model (Berthou et al., 2018) to drive a high-resolution distributed hydrological wflow_sbm model (e.g. Imhoff et al., 2020) covering most of the Alpine mountain range on an hourly resolution. Simulations of the future climate RCP 8.5 for the end-of-century (2096-2105) and current climate (1998-2007) are compared.</p><p>First, the wflow_sbm model was validated by comparing ERA5 driven simulation with streamflow observations (across Rhone, Rhine, Po, Adige and Danube). Second, the wflow_sbm simulation driven by UM simulation of the current climate was compared to a dataset of historical flood occurrences (Paprotny et al., 2018, Earth Syst. Sci. Data) to validate if the model can accurately simulate the location of the flash floods and to determine a suitable threshold for flash flooding. Finally, the future run was used to asses changes in flash flood frequency and occurrence. Results show an increase in flash flood frequency for the Upper Rhine and Adige catchments. For the Rhone the increase was less pronounced. The locations where the flash floods occur did not change much.</p><p>This research is embedded in the EU H2020 project EUCP (EUropean Climate Prediction system) (https://www.eucp-project.eu/), which aims to support climate adaptation and mitigation decisions for the coming decades by developing a regional climate prediction and projection system based on high-resolution climate models for Europe.</p><p> </p><p>N. Ban, E. Brisson, C. Caillaud, E. Coppola, E. Pichelli, S. Sobolowski, …, M.J. Zander (2021): “The first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at the kilometer-scale resolution, Part I: Evaluation of precipitation”, manuscript accepted for publication in Climate Dynamics.</p><p>S. Berthou, E.J. Kendon, S. C. Chan, N. Ban, D. Leutwyler, C. Schär, and G. Fosser, 2018, “Pan-european climate at convection-permitting scale: a model intercomparison study.” Climate Dynamics, pages 1–25, DOI: 10.1007/s00382-018-4114-6</p><p>Imhoff, R.O., W. van Verseveld, B. van Osnabrugge, A.H. Weerts, 2020. “Scaling point-scale pedotransfer functions parameter estimates for seamless large-domain high-resolution distributed hydrological modelling: An example for the Rhine river.” Water Resources Research, 56. Doi: 10.1029/2019WR026807</p><p>Paprotny, D., Morales Napoles, O., & Jonkman, S. N., 2018. "HANZE: a pan-European database of exposure to natural hazards and damaging historical floods since 1870". Earth System Science Data, 10, 565–581, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-565-2018</p>

scholarly journals Assessing long term flash flooding frequency using historical information

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Archer ◽  
Geoff Parkin ◽  
Hayley J. Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Abrupt Onset ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Historical Information ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Historical Series ◽  
Historical Accounts

Flash floods are distinguished from ‘normal flooding’ by an abrupt onset arising from intense short period rainfall. Historical information based on pre-gauged descriptive information is used to prepare time series of flash floods for Northeast England and Southwest England as decadal numbers of events from 1800. The time series show a minimum in the late twentieth century for both locations. Flash flood frequency is then assessed for three locations in Northeast England by comparing recent extreme floods with historical accounts: (1) an urban pluvial flood in Newcastle in June 2012, (2) a severe flood in September 1968 on the Cotting Burn, a small ungauged tributary of the River Wansbeck, and (3) an extreme rate of rise in river level on the River Wansbeck in August 1994. Although there have been no comparable recent occurrences, several flash floods of equal or greater magnitude at the same locations were identified from historical accounts. Using the longer historical record in conjunction with limited recent observations has advantages when assessing the frequency of occurrence of rare events. However, these advantages are tempered by the possibility of non-stationarity in the historical series owing to catchment changes, from natural climatic variability and from potential anthropogenic climate change.

Using Climate Models to Estimate Urban Vulnerability to Flash Floods

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 2637-2650 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kermanshah ◽  
S. Derrible ◽  
M. Berkelhammer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Travel Demand ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Climate System Model ◽  
Infrastructure Networks ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Climate change will impact urban infrastructure networks by changing precipitation patterns in a region. This study presents a novel vulnerability assessment framework for infrastructure networks against extreme rainfall-induced flash floods, with a specific application to transportation. The framework combines climate models, network science, geographical information systems (GIS), and stochastic modeling to compile a vulnerability surface (VS). Daily precipitation simulations for 2006–2100 from the Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4), are used to produce a stochastic simulation of extreme flash flood events in five U.S. cities—that is, Boston, Massachusetts; Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—under two different climate scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). To assess the impact of these events, percentage drops in static (i.e., overall properties and robustness topological indicators) and dynamic (i.e., GIS accessibility and travel demand metrics) network properties are measured before and after simulated extreme events. The results of these metrics are inputs on a radar diagram to form a VS. Overall, the results show that changes in flash flood frequency due to climate change can have a significant impact on road networks, as was demonstrated recently in Houston, Texas. The magnitude of these impacts is chiefly associated with the geographic location of the cities and the size of the networks. The proposed framework can be reproduced in any city around the world, and researchers can use the results as guidelines for infrastructure design and planning purposes. Moreover, sensitivity analysis to varying greenhouse gas concentration trajectories can help local and national authorities to prioritize strategies for adaptation to climate change in more vulnerable regions.

scholarly journals floodX: Urban flash flood experiments monitored with conventional and alternative sensors

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Moy de Vitry ◽  
Simon Dicht ◽  
João P. Leitão
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Flood Risk Mapping

Abstract. The datasets described in this paper are intended to provide a basis on which new methods for monitoring and modelling urban pluvial flash floods can be developed. Pluvial flash floods are a growing hazard to property and inhabitants' well-being in urban areas. However, the lack of appropriate data collection methods is often cited as an impediment for reliable flood modelling, thereby hindering the improvement of flood risk mapping and early warning systems. In the floodX project, 37 controlled urban flash floods were generated and monitored in a flood response training facility with state-of-the-art conventional sensors in the drainage network, as well as alternative sensors on the surface, namely temperature probes and surveillance cameras. With these data, the technical feasibility of utilizing citizen science and computer vision for urban flood monitoring can be explored. The floodX project stands out as the largest documented flood experiment of its kind, providing both conventional and alternative data types in parallel and at high temporal resolution. Besides describing the flash flood experiments and the resulting datasets, weaknesses in the data and lessons learned are also described. The main data package is openly available at http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.236878.

scholarly journals Japan-Egypt Hydro Network: Science and Technology Collaborative Research for Flash Flood Management

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Sumi ◽  
◽  
Mohamed Saber ◽  
Sameh Ahmad Kantoush ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flash Flood ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
Distributed Hydrological Model ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Short Time

The present paper outlines the development of a shared hydraulic and hydrology-based network between Kyoto University and three institutional research units in Egypt that seeks to bridge the gap in research, education and practice. This network base was developed the contextualized problems facing the water resources sector in Egypt. Although Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, suffers from severe water shortages, flash floods are responsible for the loss of lives and other problems. One of the JE-HydroNet (Japan-Egypt Hydro Network) outcomes is to forecast flash floods and to propose mitigation strategies in order to reduce the threat of flash floods and water harvesting. An integration of remote sensing data and a distributed Hydrological model so-called Hydro-BEAM (Hydrological River Basin Environmental AssessmentModel) has been proposed for flash flood simulation at Wadi-El-Arish, Sinai. Simulation has been successfully carried out to flash flood event that hit Egypt in January, 2010. Simulation results present remarkable characteristics such as the short time to maximum peak, short flow duration, and severe damage resulting in difficulty in evacuating people from the vulnerable regions. The methodology developed to forecast flash floods considering mitigation strategies which can be applied effectively at different arid regions.

scholarly journals Does Population Affect the Location of Flash Flood Reports?

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 1953-1963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca D. Marjerison ◽  
M. Todd Walter ◽  
Patrick J. Sullivan ◽  
Stephen J. Colucci
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Actual Distribution ◽  
Impervious Area ◽  
Flood Generation

AbstractFlash floods cause more fatalities than any other weather-related natural hazard and cause significant damage to property and infrastructure. It is important to understand the underlying processes that lead to these infrequent but high-consequence events. Accurately determining the locations of flash flood events can be difficult, which impedes comprehensive research of the phenomena. While some flash floods can be detected by automated means (e.g., streamflow gauges), flash floods (and other severe weather events) are generally based on human observations and may not reflect the actual distribution of event locations. The Storm Data–Storm Events Database, which is produced from National Weather Service reports, was used to locate reported flash floods within the forecast area of the Binghamton, New York, Weather Forecast Office between 2007 and 2013. The distribution of those reports was analyzed as a function of environmental variables associated with flood generation including slope, impervious area, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity ksat, representative rainfall intensity, and representative rainfall depth, as well as human population. A spatial conditional autoregressive model was used to test the hypothesis that flash flood reports are made more frequently in areas with higher populations, even when other flood-generating processes are considered. Slope, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, and impervious area are significant predictors of flash flood reports. When population is added as a predictor, the model is similarly robust, but impervious area and ksat are no longer significant predictors. These results may challenge the assumption that flash flood reports are strongly biased by population.

scholarly journals floodX: urban flash flood experiments monitored with conventional and alternative sensors

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 657-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Moy de Vitry ◽  
Simon Dicht ◽  
João P. Leitão
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Video Data ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Flood Risk Mapping

Abstract. The data sets described in this paper provide a basis for developing and testing new methods for monitoring and modelling urban pluvial flash floods. Pluvial flash floods are a growing hazard to property and inhabitants' well-being in urban areas. However, the lack of appropriate data collection methods is often cited as an impediment for reliable flood modelling, thereby hindering the improvement of flood risk mapping and early warning systems. The potential of surveillance infrastructure and social media is starting to draw attention for this purpose. In the floodX project, 22 controlled urban flash floods were generated in a flood response training facility and monitored with state-of-the-art sensors as well as standard surveillance cameras. With these data, it is possible to explore the use of video data and computer vision for urban flood monitoring and modelling. The floodX project stands out as the largest documented flood experiment of its kind, providing both conventional measurements and video data in parallel and at high temporal resolution. The data set used in this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.830513.

scholarly journals Flash Flood Events along the West Mediterranean Coasts: Inundations of Urbanized Areas Conditioned by Anthropic Impacts

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 620
Author(s):  
Francesco Faccini ◽  
Fabio Luino ◽  
Guido Paliaga ◽  
Anna Roccati ◽  
Laura Turconi
Keyword(s):  
Flash Flood ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Intense Rainfall ◽  
Frequency Increase ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Ground Effects

Flash floods represent one of the natural hazards that causes the greatest number of victims in the Mediterranean area. These processes occur by short and intense rainfall affecting limited areas of a few square kilometers, with rapid hydrological responses. Among the causes of the flood frequency increase in the last decades are the effects of the urban expansion in areas of fluvial pertinence and climatic change, namely the interaction between anthropogenic landforms and hydro-geomorphological dynamics. In this paper the authors show a comparison between flood events with very similar weather-hydrological characteristics and the ground effects occurred in coastal areas of three regions located at the top of a triangle in the Ligurian Sea, namely Liguria, Tuscany and Sardinia. With respect to the meteorological-hydrological hazard, it should be noted that the events analyzed occurred during autumn, in the conditions of a storm system triggered by cyclogenesis on the Genoa Gulf or by the extra-tropical cyclone Cleopatra. The “flash floods” damage recorded in the inhabited areas is due to the vulnerability of the elements at risk in the fluvio-coastal plains examined. There are numerous anthropogenic forcings that have influenced the hydro-geomorphological dynamics and that have led to an increase in risk conditions.

scholarly journals A Survey of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System Applications for Flash Floods

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1818
Author(s):  
Lisha Ding ◽  
Lei Ma ◽  
Longguo Li ◽  
Chao Liu ◽  
Naiwen Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Information System ◽  
Geographic Information System ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Flood Disaster ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Time Zone ◽  
Gis Technologies

Flash floods are among the most dangerous natural disasters. As climate change and urbanization advance, an increasing number of people are at risk of flash floods. The application of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies in the study of flash floods has increased significantly over the last 20 years. In this paper, more than 200 articles published in the last 20 years are summarized and analyzed. First, a visualization analysis of the literature is performed, including a keyword co-occurrence analysis, time zone chart analysis, keyword burst analysis, and literature co-citation analysis. Then, the application of remote sensing and GIS technologies to flash flood disasters is analyzed in terms of aspects such as flash flood forecasting, flash flood disaster impact assessments, flash flood susceptibility analyses, flash flood risk assessments, and the identification of flash flood disaster risk areas. Finally, the current research status is summarized, and the orientation of future research is also discussed.

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