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Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 60232

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Prof. Dr. Philippe Gourbesville

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Graduate School of Engineering, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
Interests: urban water management; hydroinformatics; deterministic modeling; real-time simulation; DSS; resilience
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recent catastrophic flooding events observed worldwide have underlined the urgency to integrate the current climate dynamic and to look to develop engineering solutions that give more space to the resilience concept. The complexity of modern societies has induced a growing vulnerability regarding flooding, in particular within the new megacity environments. The modern urban developments that will host 70% of the world population in 2030 requires that we anticipate, forecast and mitigate the potential flood risks that may affect cities. The integrated flood management (IFM) approach aims to maximize the productivity and efficient use of floodplains and coastal zones, while minimizing the loss of life and impact on livelihoods and assets through protective measures. Obviously, absolute protection from flooding is impossible to achieve and a choice has to be made regarding the level of risk that is acceptable for a society. This pro-active risk reduction approach has to be supported by concepts, methods and operational tools. This Special Issue aims to propose an overview of the most advanced research and results obtained with new concepts, methods and tools in the field of flood risk reduction. Submissions focused of emerging ICT solutions and hydroinformatics tools implemented in decision support systems and in catastrophe modelling are strongly encouraged. Submissions presenting a return on experience (REX) for extreme events and operational technical solutions are welcome.

Prof. Philippe Gourbesville
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Integrated Flood Risk Management (IFRM)
Decision Support Systems
Early warning and forecast systems
Hydroinformatics and ICT solutions
Numerical models
Crisis management
Hazards, vulnerability and risks assessment
Damage and mitigation strategies
Resilience
Return on experience (REX)

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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24 pages, 5737 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mitigation Plan and Water Harvesting of Flashflood in Arid Rural Communities Using Modelling Approach: A Case Study in Afouna Village, Egypt

by Omar M. Abdeldayem, Omar Eldaghar, Mohamed K. Mostafa, Mahmoud M. Habashy, Ahmed A. Hassan, Hossam Mahmoud, Karim M. Morsy, Ahmed Abdelrady and Robert W. Peters

Water 2020, 12(9), 2565; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092565 - 14 Sep 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4930

Abstract

This paper aims to propose methods to mitigate the risks of flash flood events in arid rural communities with poor infrastructure. A flash flood management case study was conducted at Afouna Village in Egypt, which is characterized by an arid climate and faced a devasting flash flood in 2015. First, the flash flood was modelled and it was found that it corresponds to a 100 year return period flood that led to an almost 13 million m³ total runoff volume. A structural protection approach, using an artificial infiltration pond, was applied to mitigate the flooding risks through water harvesting and recharging the groundwater of the Moghra aquifer. In this study, a novel approach was proposed, which is substituting the low permeability silty sand (2.0 × 10⁻⁴ m/s) in the pond area with a high permeability one (9.6 × 10⁻³ m/s), which will enhance water harvesting and reduce direct evaporation. Modern techniques of hydrological modelling were utilized in order to achieve the optimal use, and harvesting, of flash flood water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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22 pages, 17615 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Flood Waves, Production Wells, and Precipitation on Shallow Groundwater Using a Linear Regression Model Approach Based on a Case Study of Mohács Island, Hungary

by András Hervai, Éva Farics, István Sisák, Gábor Farkas, János Kovács and Dénes Lóczy

Water 2020, 12(5), 1359; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051359 - 11 May 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3176

Abstract

Studying the relationship between river water and shallow groundwater (SGW) during flood events is a research topic receiving increasing attention for many reasons. This phenomenon was studied with respect to Mohács Island of the Danube (Hungary) in an area protected by a levee. Floods only infiltrate into the island through the aquifer, where production wells for drinking water supply are located. Our objective was to reveal how the Danube and water abstraction from production wells control groundwater levels in the observation wells, and we also studied the effect of the precipitation events and the lag times of the influencing variables compared to the peak of groundwater waves in observation wells. The effects of these factors were summarized by a linear regression model (LM) with lag times. We developed an application because we had time-series for thirty groundwater wells and five major flood events of the Danube. Kriging was used to generate impact maps of the Danube and production wells. A propagation map of the Danube flood wave into the groundwater aquifer was also generated. We used geological information to explain the findings that the river flood waves propagate with the same wavelength and decreasing amplitude in the covered aquifer and with an elongated wavelength in uncovered conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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14 pages, 6473 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simple-Yet-Effective SRTM DEM Improvement Scheme for Dense Urban Cities Using ANN and Remote Sensing Data: Application to Flood Modeling

by Dong Eon Kim, Shie-Yui Liong, Philippe Gourbesville, Ludovic Andres and Jiandong Liu

Water 2020, 12(3), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030816 - 14 Mar 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 5732

Abstract

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are crucial in flood modeling as DEM data reflects the actual topographic characteristics where water can flow in the model. However, a high-quality DEM is very difficult to acquire as it is very time consuming, costly, and, often restricted. DEM data from a publicly accessible satellite, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and Sentinel 2 multispectral imagery are selected and used to train the artificial neural network (ANN) to improve the quality of SRTM’s DEM. High-quality DEM is used as target data in the training of ANN. The trained ANN will then be ready to efficiently and effectively generate a high-quality DEM, at low cost, for places where ground truth DEM data is not available. In this paper, the performance of the DEM improvement scheme is evaluated over two dense urban cities, Nice (France) and Singapore; with the performance criteria using various matrices, e.g., visual clarity, scatter plots, root mean square error (RMSE) and flood maps. The DEM resulting from the improved SRTM (iSRTM) showed significantly better results than the original SRTM DEM, with about 38% RMSE reduction. Flood maps from iSRTM DEM show much more reasonable flood patterns than SRTM DEM’s flood map. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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17 pages, 15097 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated Urban Flood Vulnerability Index for Sustainable Planning in Arid Zones of Developing Countries

by Carlos Salazar-Briones, José Mizael Ruiz-Gibert, Marcelo A. Lomelí-Banda and Alejandro Mungaray-Moctezuma

Water 2020, 12(2), 608; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020608 - 24 Feb 2020

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 7206

Abstract

Floods are among the most recurring and devastating natural hazards, impacting human lives and causing severe economic damage. Urbanization can increase the risk of flooding due to increased peak discharge and volume. Over arid urban areas of developing countries, flood disaster management is reactive, responding to prevailing disaster situations, mainly because of the lack of budget, equipment, facilities, and human resources. The approach required in a new city requires a different operative planning process, ruled by different kinds of specific indicators to be incorporated in the sustainable planning process. This study focuses on an approach to assess flood vulnerability as a planning tool using an integrated flood vulnerability index (FVI) with variables that are accessible in developing countries and arid urban areas. The research took place in the city of Mexicali, Baja, California. México. This index was determined by coupling the variables of three components: social, economic, and physical. The FVI reflects the status of an urban scale’s vulnerability. Variables were obtained from government data for the social and economic components, and a hydrological and hydraulic model approach as a physical component. The correlation of each variable to the flood was taken into account by using a general linear transformation. GIS was used as a tool for the development of spatial analysis. The results showed the spatial distribution of vulnerability at an urban district scale. It was found that 55% of the population is exposed to a vulnerability above the average value of the urban area. Integrating all the components will help decision-makers to implement strategies to improve the resilience of the area by attending the needs of the particular component that is more vulnerable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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21 pages, 1590 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flood Forecasting and Warning System Structures: Procedure and Application to a Small Urban Stream in South Korea

by Yangho Song, Yoonkyung Park, Jungho Lee, Moojong Park and Youngseok Song

Water 2019, 11(8), 1571; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081571 - 29 Jul 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6668

Abstract

The runoff from heavy rainfall reaches urban streams quickly, causing them to rise rapidly. It is therefore of great importance to provide sufficient lead time for evacuation planning and decision making. An efficient flood forecasting and warning method is crucial for ensuring adequate lead time. With this objective, this paper proposes an analysis method for a flood forecasting and warning system, and establishes the criteria for issuing urban-stream flash flood warnings based on the amount of rainfall to allow sufficient lead time. The proposed methodology is a nonstructural approach to flood prediction and risk reduction. It considers water level fluctuations during a rainfall event and estimates the upstream (alert point) and downstream (confluence) water levels for water level analysis based on the rainfall intensity and duration. We also investigate the rainfall/runoff and flow rate/water level relationships using the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) and the HEC’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) models, respectively, and estimate the rainfall threshold for issuing flash flood warnings depending on the backwater state based on actual watershed conditions. We present a methodology for issuing flash flood warnings at a critical point by considering the effects of fluctuations in various backwater conditions in real time, which will provide practical support for decision making by disaster protection workers. The results are compared with real-time water level observations of the Dorim Stream. Finally, we verify the validity of the flash flood warning criteria by comparing the predicted values with the observed values and performing validity analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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22 pages, 6139 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flood Hazard Scenarios of the Sirba River (Niger): Evaluation of the Hazard Thresholds and Flooding Areas

by Giovanni Massazza, Paolo Tamagnone, Catherine Wilcox, Elena Belcore, Alessandro Pezzoli, Theo Vischel, Gérémy Panthou, Mohamed Housseini Ibrahim, Maurizio Tiepolo, Vieri Tarchiani and Maurizio Rosso

Water 2019, 11(5), 1018; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11051018 - 15 May 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7568

Abstract

In Sahelian countries, a vast number of people are still affected every year by flood despite the efforts to prevent or mitigate these catastrophic events. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the incessant population growth and the increase of extreme natural events. Hence, the development of flood management strategies such as flood hazard mapping and Early Warning Systems has become a crucial objective for the affected nations. This study presents a comprehensive hazard assessment of the Nigerien reach of the Sirba River, the main tributary Middle Niger River. Hazard thresholds were defined both on hydrological analysis and field effects, according to national guidelines. Non-stationary analyses were carried out to consider changes in the hydrological behavior of the Sirba basin over time. Data from topographical land surveys and discharge gauges collected during the 2018 dry and wet seasons were used to implement the hydraulic numerical model of the analyzed reach. The use of the proposed hydraulic model allowed the delineation of flood hazard maps as well the calculation of the flood propagation time from the upstream hydrometric station and the validation of the rating curves of the two gauging sites. These significative outcomes will allow the implementation of the Early Warning System for the river flood hazard and risk reduction plans preparation for each settlement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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20 pages, 4563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Multi-Objective Cooperative Competition Mechanism of Jinsha River Downstream Cascade Reservoirs during the Flood Season Based on Optimized NSGA-III

by Xiaokuan Ni, Zengchuan Dong, Wei Xie, Wenhao Jia, Changgui Duan and Hongyi Yao

Water 2019, 11(4), 849; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040849 - 23 Apr 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4011

Abstract

This paper analyzes the complex relationship among flood control, power generation and ecological maintenance for the four cascade reservoirs located on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, China. A weighted flood control index is incorporated and a constraining method consisting of the combination of a constrained corridor and a penalty function is proposed. A comprehensive utilization model is established in this paper based on the objectives of flood prevention, power generation, and ecological maintenance of the downstream cascade reservoir group of the Jinsha River during flood season. In addition, based on the coalescent selection of reference points and vector angles, an optimized non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (VA-NSGA-III) is proposed. The algorithm is applied to the constructed model to define the cooperative competition mechanisms among these three targets, resulting in a set of non-inferior scheduling schemes with more uniformity and better convergence acquired with VA-NSGA-III. The scheduling program shows that there is a non-linear competitive relationship between the power generation and ecological effects of the cascade reservoirs during flood season, and the competitiveness weakens as the power generation increases. Furthermore, when the flood control is at low risk, there exists a complex coupling relationship between competition and coordination of the flood control, power generation, and ecological maintenance. While the risk appears high, there is a competitive relationship between flood control and power generation, with flood control being in synergy with ecological maintenance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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21 pages, 4762 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flood Resilience of Critical Infrastructure: Approach and Method Applied to Fort Lauderdale, Florida

by Karin M. de Bruijn, Carolina Maran, Mike Zygnerski, Jennifer Jurado, Andreas Burzel, Claire Jeuken and Jayantha Obeysekera

Water 2019, 11(3), 517; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030517 - 12 Mar 2019

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 9414

Abstract

In order to increase the flood resilience of cities (i.e., the ability to cope with flood hazards), it is also crucial to make critical infrastructure functions resilient, since these are essential for urban society. Cities are complex systems with many actors of different disciplines and many interdependent critical infrastructure networks and functions. Common flood risk analysis techniques provide useful information but are not sufficient to obtain a complete overview of the effects of flooding and potential measures to increase flood resilience related to critical infrastructure networks. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach is needed which helps accessing knowledge of actors in a structured way. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States has suffered from flood impacts, especially from disruptions in critical infrastructure. This paper shows how shared insight among different sectors and stakeholders into critical infrastructure resilience and potential resilience-enhancing measures was obtained using input from these actors. It also provides a first quantitative indication of resilience, indicated by the potential disruption due to floods and the effect of measures on resilience. The paper contributes to the existing literature on resilience specifically by considering the duration of disruption, the inclusion of critical infrastructure disruption in flood impact analysis, and the step from resilience quantification to measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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22 pages, 1415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flood Classification Based on a Fuzzy Clustering Iteration Model with Combined Weight and an Immune Grey Wolf Optimizer Algorithm

by Qiang Zou, Li Liao, Yi Ding and Hui Qin

Water 2019, 11(1), 80; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010080 - 4 Jan 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3758

Abstract

Flood classification is an important basis for flood forecasting, flood risk identification, flood real-time scheduling, and flood resource utilization. However, flood classification results may be not reasonable due to uncertainty, the fuzziness of evaluation indices, and the demerit of not comprehensively considering the index weight. In this paper, based on the fuzzy clustering iterative model, a sensitivity coefficient was applied to combine the subjective and objective weights into a combined weight, then the fuzzy clustering iterative model with combined weight (FCI-CW) was proposed for flood classification. Moreover, an immune grey wolf optimizer algorithm (IGWO) based on the standard grey wolf optimizer algorithm and an immune clone selection operator was proposed for the global search of the optimal fuzzy clustering center and the sensitivity coefficient of FCI-CW. Finally, simulation results at Nanjing station and Yichang station demonstrate that the proposed methodology, i.e., FCI-CW combined with IGWO, is reasonable and reliable, can effectively deal with flood classification problems with better fitness and a comprehensive consideration of the subjective and objective aspects, and has great application potential in sorting, evaluation, and decision-making problems without evaluation criteria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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8 pages, 2698 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

Integrating Reservoir Operations and Flood Modeling with HEC-RAS 2D

by Matthew Garcia, Andrew Juan and Philip Bedient

Water 2020, 12(8), 2259; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082259 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6008

Abstract

Current free to use models developed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) perform unique functions (e.g., hydrology, hydraulics, reservoir operations, and flood impact analysis) that are widely used in numerous studies and applications. These models are commonly set up in a framework that is limited to point source connections, which is problematic in regions with flat topography and complex hydrodynamics. The separate models need to be integrally linked and jointly considered for accurate risk communication and decision-making, especially during major storm events. Recently, Hurricane Harvey (2017) exposed the shortcomings of the existing framework in West Harris County, TX, where an insufficient understanding of potential flood risk and impacts contributed to the extensive flood damages sustained in the region. This work illustrates the possibility of using a single hydraulic model, HEC-RAS 2D, to perform all hydrologic, hydraulic, and reservoir operations modeling necessary for accurate flood impact assessments. Implications of this study include a simplification of the entire flood impact analysis, which could help future flood risk communication and emergency planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Flood Management: Concepts, Methods, Tools and Results)

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