A Modelling Tool for Assessing Flood Risk

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.J. Balmforth ◽  
P. Dibben
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Individual Property ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Developed World

Managing urban flooding remains one of the key challenges for the operators of sewerage systems in the developed world. In the UK it has been an important area of investment over the last five-year asset management period, and will be even higher on the agenda for the next five. Although modern software tools are extremely sophisticated in estimating the probability of sewer surcharging and surface flooding, the science of assessing individual property flood risk is still in its infancy. The authors have developed a flood risk tool to identify the consequential effects of sewer system overloading in terms of individual property flood risk. This is post-processing software using the output from conventional modelling software. The tool recognises two separate causes of property flooding: backing up flow through connecting drains when sewers are surcharged, and the conveyance of flood flows over the surface. The severity of each is combined with return period to give a flood risk score for each property within a catchment. The tool has been trialled by UK water companies as a proactive way of managing flood risk and has been shown to offer significant advantages over traditional methods of urban flood management.

RIMurban – A generalized GPU-based model for urban pluvial flood risk modelling and forecasting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Apel ◽  
Sergiy Vorogushyn ◽  
Mostafa Farrag ◽  
Nguyen Viet Dung ◽  
Melanie Karremann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
The Core ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Model Setup

<p>Urban flash floods caused by heavy convective precipitation pose an increasing threat to communes world-wide due to the increasing intensity and frequency of convective precipitation caused by a warming atmosphere. Thus, flood risk management plans adapted to the current flood risk but also capable of managing future risks are of high importance. These plans necessarily need model based pluvial flood risk simulations. In an urban environment these simulations have to have a high spatial and temporal resolution in order to site-specific management solutions. Moreover, the effect of the sewer systems needs to be included to achieve realistic inundation simulations, but also to assess the effectiveness of the sewer system and its fitness to future changes in the pluvial hazard. The setup of these models, however, typically requires a large amount of input data, a high degree of modelling expertise, a long time for setting up the model setup and to finally run the simulations. Therefor most communes cannot perform this task.</p><p> In order to provide model-based pluvial urban flood hazard and finally risk assessments for a large number of communes, the model system RIM<em>urban</em> was developed. The core of the system consists of a simplified raster-based 2D hydraulic model simulating the urban surface inundation in high spatial resolution. The model is implemented on GPUs for massive parallelization. The specific urban hydrology is considered by a capacity-based simulation of the sewer system and infiltration on non-sealed surfaces, and flow routing around buildings. The model thus considers the specific urban hydrological features, but with simplified approaches. Due to these simplifications the model setup can be performed with comparatively low data requirements, which can be covered with open data in most cases. The core data required are a high-resolution DEM, a layer of showing the buildings, and a land use map.</p><p>The spatially distributed rainfall input can be derived local precipitation records, or from an analysis of weather radar records of heavy precipitation events. A catalogue of heavy rain storms all over Germany is derived based on radar observations of the past 19 years. This catalogue serves as input for pluvial risk simulations for individual communes in Germany, as well as a catalogue of possible extreme events for the current climate. Future changes in these extreme events will be estimated based on regional climate simulations of a ΔT (1.5°C, 2°C) warmer world.</p><p>RIM<em>urban</em> simulates the urban inundation caused by these events, as well as the stress on the sewer system. Based on the inundation maps the damage to residential buildings will be estimated and further developed to a pluvial urban flood risk assessment. Because of the comparatively simple model structure and low data demand, the model setup can be easily automatized and transferred to most small to medium sized communes in Europe and even beyond, if the damage estimation is modified. RIM<em>urban</em> is thus seen as a generally appölicable screening tool for urban pluvial flood risk and a starting point for adapted risk management plans.</p>

scholarly journals The evolution of climate change guidance for fluvial flood risk management in England

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas S Reynard ◽  
Alison L Kay ◽  
Molly Anderson ◽  
Bill Donovan ◽  
Caroline Duckworth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Floods are one of the biggest natural hazards to society, and there is increasing concern about the potential impacts of climate change on flood occurrence and magnitude. Furthermore, flood risk is likely to increase in the future not just through increased flood occurrence, but also through socio-economic changes, such as increasing population. The extent to which adaptation measures can offset this increased risk will depend on the level of future climate change, but there exists an urgent need for information on the potential impacts of climate change on floods, so that these can be accounted for by flood management authorities and local planners aiming to reduce flood risk. Agencies across the UK have been pro-active in providing such guidance for many years and in refining it as the science of climate change and hydrological impacts has developed. The history of this guidance for fluvial flood risk in England is presented and discussed here, including the recent adoption of a regional risk-based approach. Such an approach could be developed and applied to flood risk management in other countries, and to other sectors affected by climate change.

scholarly journals SuDS & Sponge Cities: A Comparative Analysis of the Implementation of Pluvial Flood Management in the UK and China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Lashford ◽  
Matteo Rubinato ◽  
Yanpeng Cai ◽  
Jingming Hou ◽  
Soroush Abolfathi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Sponge City ◽  
Rainfall Model ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Whole Life Costing

In recent decades, rapid urbanization has resulted in a growing urban population, transformed into regions of exceptional socio-economic value. By removing vegetation and soil, grading the land surface and saturating soil air content, urban developments are more likely to be flooded, which will be further exacerbated by an anticipated increase in the number of intense rainfall events, due to climate change. To date, data collected show that urban pluvial flood events are on the rise for both the UK and China. This paper presents a critical review of existing sustainable approaches to urban flood management, by comparing UK practice with that in China and critically assessing whether lessons can be learnt from the Sponge City initiative. The authors have identified a strategic research plan to ensure that the sponge city initiative can successfully respond to extreme climatic events and tackle pluvial flooding. Hence, this review suggests that future research should focus on (1) the development of a more localized rainfall model for the Chinese climate; (2) the role of retrofit SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) in challenging water environments; (3) the development of a robust SuDS selection tool, ensuring that the most effective devices are installed, based on local factors; and (4) dissemination of current information, and increased understanding of maintenance and whole life-costing, alongside monitoring the success of sponge cities to increase the confidence of decision makers (5) the community engagement and education about sponge cities.

Urban Flood Management Under Changing Climate

2022 ◽  
pp. 174-196
Author(s):  
Muhammed Sulfikkar Ahamed ◽  
Shyni Anilkumar
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Research Outcome ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
National Disaster

Climate change and the associated phenomenon have put major cities and their surroundings at multi-dimensional risk patterns because of hazards, with flooding being a major hazard in the Asian Peninsula. With authorities such as National Disaster Management Authority, India reporting multiple urban local bodies to be under flood risk, it is essential to prioritize flood risk management in the urban planning process in India. Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, India has been frequently affected by flooding events. Various factors have been attributed to the flood risk of Kochi Corporation, which requires validation. Against this backdrop, the study focuses on comprehending significant factors attributed to the vulnerability of settlements in the study region and promoting a way forward based on lessons learned and good practices across the world. This is achieved by analyzing significant databases and computations using GIS. The research outcome would help define strategies for sustainable land-use-based development, promoting effective flood management in the Kochi urban area.

scholarly journals Assessing urban strategies for reducing the impacts of extreme weather on infrastructure networks

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 160023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Pregnolato ◽  
Alistair Ford ◽  
Craig Robson ◽  
Vassilis Glenis ◽  
Stuart Barr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Transport Network ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Infrastructure Networks ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Critical Locations

Critical infrastructure networks, including transport, are crucial to the social and economic function of urban areas but are at increasing risk from natural hazards. Minimizing disruption to these networks should form part of a strategy to increase urban resilience. A framework for assessing the disruption from flood events to transport systems is presented that couples a high-resolution urban flood model with transport modelling and network analytics to assess the impacts of extreme rainfall events, and to quantify the resilience value of different adaptation options. A case study in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK shows that both green roof infrastructure and traditional engineering interventions such as culverts or flood walls can reduce transport disruption from flooding. The magnitude of these benefits depends on the flood event and adaptation strategy, but for the scenarios considered here 3–22% improvements in city-wide travel times are achieved. The network metric of betweenness centrality, weighted by travel time, is shown to provide a rapid approach to identify and prioritize the most critical locations for flood risk management intervention. Protecting just the top ranked critical location from flooding provides an 11% reduction in person delays. A city-wide deployment of green roofs achieves a 26% reduction, and although key routes still flood, the benefits of this strategy are more evenly distributed across the transport network as flood depths are reduced across the model domain. Both options should form part of an urban flood risk management strategy, but this method can be used to optimize investment and target limited resources at critical locations, enabling green infrastructure strategies to be gradually implemented over the longer term to provide city-wide benefits. This framework provides a means of prioritizing limited financial resources to improve resilience. This is particularly important as flood management investments must typically exceed a far higher benefit–cost threshold than transport infrastructure investments. By capturing the value to the transport network from flood management interventions, it is possible to create new business models that provide benefits to, and enhance the resilience of, both transport and flood risk management infrastructures. Further work will develop the framework to consider other hazards and infrastructure networks.

scholarly journals Downpour! – Flood risk communication through interactive immersive street games

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Wendler ◽  
Emma L. Shuttleworth
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Interactive Games ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
The Uk

In this paper, we discuss the potential role of immersive interactive games in public engagement with environmental science, in this case flood risk management. Recent high magnitude storm events in the UK have fuelled great public interest in flooding. However, there remains an apparent mismatch between the scientific voice of flooding research and the wider public discourse, which we argue games may be able to address. Downpour! is a street game that casts players as flood risk advisers in a fictional flooding scenario. Players work in teams to respond to an immediate crisis and make longer-term decisions about mitigation through a series of encounters with actors, films, puzzles and treasure hunts. The game was created by a street game designer in collaboration with film-makers, environmental scientists and public institutions, with performances at the Manchester Science Festival and the Festival of Social Science 2016. Based on observations and responses from these events, we discuss how the game fostered understanding of, and engagement with, decision-making in flood risk management. Games offer people the agency to experiment with decisions in a safe space. As a result, we found that players begin to independently interrogate both scientific and political dimensions of flood management. The immersive nature of a street game further creates an emotional connection with the issues, which has the potential for triggering active involvement in flood-related efforts. We conclude by reflecting on the process behind the game creation, commenting on the strengths and difficulties of innovative collaborations between environmental scientists and creative practitioners.

scholarly journals Achieving Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Fenner ◽  
Emily O’Donnell ◽  
Sangaralingam Ahilan ◽  
David Dawson ◽  
Leon Kapetas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
The Uk

Preliminary results of the UK Urban Flood Resilience research consortium are presented and discussed, with the work being conducted against a background of future uncertainties with respect to changing climate and increasing urbanization. Adopting a whole systems approach, key themes include developing adaptive approaches for flexible engineering design of coupled grey and blue-green flood management assets; exploiting the resource potential of urban stormwater through rainwater harvesting, urban metabolism modelling and interoperability; and investigating the interactions between planners, developers, engineers and communities at multiple scales in managing flood risk. The work is producing new modelling tools and an extensive evidence base to support the case for multifunctional infrastructure that delivers multiple, environmental, societal and economic benefits, while enhancing urban flood resilience by bringing stormwater management and green infrastructure together.

scholarly journals Mainstreaming natural flood management: A proposed research framework derived from a critical evaluation of current knowledge

2021 ◽  
pp. 030913332199729
Author(s):  
Nicola Ellis ◽  
Karen Anderson ◽  
Richard Brazier
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Management Method ◽  
The Uk

Natural flood management (NFM), or working with natural processes, is a growing flood risk management method in the UK, Europe and worldwide. However, unlike the current dominant technical flood management, it lacks an established evidence base of flood risk parameters. This lack of evidence base can limit the uptake of NFM as a flood management method. This paper critically evaluates examples of NFM and wider relevant literature in order to identify NFM knowledge gaps and suggest how to overcome these. The UK is used as a microcosm of different environments for diverse examples. The sections include: land cover, land management, landscape interactions and trade-offs, evaluating the wider benefits of NFM and, finally, scaling from plot to catchment. This concludes in a suggested framework for a new approach to NFM research, which encompasses spatial scales, interactions and trade-offs of NFM and consistency of reporting results. Widening the NFM empirical evidence base should be seen as an opportunity for a new approach to flood research through exploring new habitats and new flood resilience methods.

scholarly journals Reducing Urban Flood Risk Through Building- and Lot-Scale Flood Mitigation Approaches: Challenges and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Sandink ◽  
Andrew D. Binns
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flood Mitigation ◽  
Urban Flooding ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Flood Vulnerability ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Flooding Events

Urban flooding events are a significant driver of disaster loss, resulting in insured and uninsured losses, property damage, and negative impacts on residents and communities in Canada and internationally. The risk of flooding in urban environments is affected by watershed characteristics, environmental conditions, and the presence and condition of flood management and mitigation technologies. Several building- and lot-scale (or private-side) flood mitigation options are available to better protect properties from the risk of flooding, including backwater valves and foundation drainage systems to reduce the risks of sewer surcharge and infiltration flooding into basements, respectively. The overall success of private-side approaches to reduce the risk of flooding into buildings is reliant upon consistent installation procedures, building code interpretation and enforcement, public engagement, and maintenance. Current research into private-side approaches is presenting many opportunities and solutions for improved flood protection against water-related disasters at home. A greater understanding of the performance of private-side technologies under complex site-specific conditions can help to appoint flood prevention strategies better suited to individual home characteristics. This review paper explores the inter-related factors that affect the risk of basement flooding and explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the adoption and success of private-side flood mitigation approaches. Developing a greater understanding of basement flood vulnerability at the lot-scale will assist in identifying and prioritizing private-side strategies for homeowners to adopt and reduce the risk of flooding based on site-specific conditions affecting flood vulnerability. Continued efforts to evaluate and identify flood risk factors and the performance of private-side strategies are needed to better manage urban flooding events.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document