1,720,993 research outputs found
Modelling large floating bodies in urban area flash-floods via a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics model
Full text linkLarge debris, including vehicles parked along floodplains, can cause severe damage and significant loss of life during urban area flash-floods. In this study, the authors validated and applied the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model, developed in Amicarelli et al. (2015), which reproduces in 3D the dynamics of rigid bodies driven by free surface flows, to the design of flood mitigation measures. To validate the model, the authors compared the model's predictions to the results of an experimental setup, involving a dam breach that strikes two fixed obstacles and three transportable floating bodies. Given the accuracy of the results, in terms of water depth over time and the time history of the bodies' movements, the SPH model explored in this study was used to analyse the mitigation efficiency of a proposed structural intervention - the use of small barriers (groynes) to prevent the transport of floating bodies. Different groynes configurations were examined to identify the most appropriate design and layout for urban area flash flood damage mitigation. The authors found that groynes positioned upstream and downstream of each floating body can be effective as a risk mitigation measure for damage resulting from their movement. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Flood damage assessment and uncertainity analysis: the case study of 2006 flood in Ilisua Basin in Romania
No full textFlood damage assessments supply crucial information to support authorities, local entities, and the stakeholders involved in decision-making regarding flood risk management in their compliance with the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). Specifically, the estimation of economic flood damage provides objective results and rational procedure in so that relate legislative planning instruments in flood risk management can be understood, accepted and shared among stakeholders. However, flood damages assessment is specifically tailored to characteristics of the flooding and objects in the considered country. Moreover, the necessary information for this analysis are not always available for all European Countries, in particular regarding the damage functions which assumptions have large effects on flood damages estimation; therefore, the existence of uncertainties that may affect the final choice needs to be considered as in any decision process. In this paper, we have made an attempt to use different damage functions, collected and harmonized by the European Joint Research Centre (JRC), utilized in several European countries, for the flood losses assessment in Romania where these functions are not available. Moreover, we have compared the assessed damage obtained through the use of the JRC damages functions and real, surveyed damage in a case study in North-Western Romania, (i.e. Ilișua Basin), regarding the flood that occurred in June 2006, and analyze uncertainties. The performed analysis has demonstrated that the outcomes are influenced by the selection and testing of vulnerability curves. Our results show that overall applicability and transferability of depth-damage curves to other geographical regions is still a major gap in current flood damage modeling, but the quantification of the uncertainties and its communication to stakeholders are the first step for the maximization of effectiveness of quantitative approach, towards flood risk management objectives of the Flood Directive, ensuring that risk information is robust, credible and transparent
Gis e Vulnerabilità sistemica: implementazione di un modello in area urbana a rischio combinato di frana e inondazione.
No full textREADY: a web-based geographical information system for enhanced flood resilience through raising awareness in citizens
Full text linkAs evidenced by the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), flood management strategies in Europe have undergone a shift in focus in recent years. The goal of flood prevention using structural measures has been replaced by an emphasis on the management of flood risks using nonstructural measures. One implication of this is that public authorities alone not only take responsibility for flood management. A broader range of stakeholders, who may personally experience the negative effects of flooding, also take on responsibility for protecting themselves. Therefore, it is vital that information concerning flood risks is conveyed to those who may be affected in order to facilitate the self-protection of citizens. Experience shows that problems persist even where efforts have been made to communicate flood risks.
There is a need for the development of new tools that are able to rapidly disseminate flood-risk information to the general public. To be useful these tools must be able to present information relevant to the location of the user. Moreover, the content and design of the tool need to be adjusted to laypeople's needs. Dissemination and communication influence both people's access to and understanding of natural risk information. Such a tool could be a useful aid to effective management of flood risks.
To address this gap, a web-based geographical information system (WebGIS) has been developed through the collaborative efforts of a group of scientists, hazard and risk analysts and managers, GIS analysts, system developers and communication designers.
This tool, called "READY: Risk, Extreme Events, Adaptation, Defend Yourself", aims to enhance the general public knowledge of flood risk, making citizens more capable of responding appropriately during a flood event. The READY WebGIS has allowed for the visualization and easy querying of a complex hazard and risk database thanks to a high degree of interactivity and easily read maps. In this way, READY has enabled fast exploration of alternative flood scenarios or past calamitous events. Combined also with a system of graphic symbols designed ad hoc for communication of self-protection behaviours, it is believed READY could lead to an increase in citizen participation, informed discussion and consensus building.
The platform has been developed for a site-specific application: the Basilicata region, Italy, has been selected as pilot application area. The goal of the prototype is to raise citizen awareness of flood risks and to build social capacity and enhanced resilience to flood events
Il modello bidimensionale FLORA-2D per la propagazione delle piene considerando le variazioni spazio-temporali della resistenza al moto indotta da vegetazione
No full textMY SIRR: Minimalist agro-hYdrological model for Sustainable IRRigation management—Soil moisture and crop dynamics
Full text linkThe paper introduces a minimalist water-driven crop model for sustainable irrigation management using
an eco-hydrological approach. Such model, called MY SIRR, uses a relatively small number of parameters
and attempts to balance simplicity, accuracy, and robustness. MY SIRR is a quantitative tool to assess
water requirements and agricultural production across different climates, soil types, crops, and irrigation
strategies. The MY SIRR source code is published under copyleft license. The FOSS approach could lower
the financial barriers of smallholders, especially in developing countries, in the utilization of tools for
better decision-making on the strategies for short- and long-term water resource management
A GIS tool for cost-effective delineation of flood-prone areas
No full textDelineation of flood hazard and flood risk areas is a critical issue, but practical difficulties regularly make complete achievement of the task a challenge. In data-scarce environments (e.g. ungauged basins, large-scale analyses), useful information about flood hazard exposure can be obtained using geomorphic methods. In order to advance this field of research, we implemented in the QGIS environment an automated DEM-based procedure that exhibited high accuracy and reliability in identifying the flood-prone areas in several test sites located in Europe, the United States and Africa. This tool, named Geomorphic Flood Area tool (GFA tool), enables rapid and cost-effective flood mapping by performing a linear binary classification based on the recently proposed Geomorphic Flood Index (GFI). The GFA tool provides a user-friendly strategy to map flood exposure over large areas. A demonstrative application of the GFA tool is presented in which a detailed flood map was derived for Romania
A GIS-based model to estimate flood consequences and the degree of accessibility and operability of strategic emergency response structures in urban areas
Full text linkEfficient decision-making regarding flood risk reduction has become a priority for authorities and stakeholders in many European countries. Risk analysis methods and techniques are a useful tool for evaluating costs and benefits of possible interventions. Within this context, a methodology to estimate flood consequences was developed in this paper that is based on GIS, and integrated with a model that estimates the degree of accessibility and operability of strategic emergency response structures in an urban area. The majority of the currently available approaches do not properly analyse road network connections and dependencies within systems, and as such a loss of roads could cause significant damages and problems to emergency services in cases of flooding. The proposed model is unique in that it provides a maximum-impact estimation of flood consequences on the basis of the operability of the strategic emergency structures in an urban area, their accessibility, and connection within the urban system of a city (i.e. connection between aid centres and buildings at risk), in the emergency phase. The results of a case study in the Puglia region in southern Italy are described to illustrate the practical applications of this newly proposed approach. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it allows for defining a hierarchy between different infrastructure in the urban area through the identification of particular components whose operation and efficiency are critical for emergency management. This information can be used by decision-makers to prioritize risk reduction interventions in flood emergencies in urban areas, given limited financial resources
FloodRisk: a collaborative, free and open-source software for flood risk analysis
Full text linkThe European ‘Floods Directive’ 2007/60/EC focuses on the development of flood risk maps and management plans on the basis of the most appropriate and advanced tools. This pushed a paradigm shift for moving to sustainable development through processes of stakeholder engagement to improve the efficiency and transparency of decision processes. In this context, this research project developed a free and open-source GIS software, called FloodRisk, to operatively support stakeholders in their compliance with risk map delineation and the management of current and future flood risk based on their needs for multi-purpose applications. In this paper, a high-resolution impact assessment framework based on 2D inundation modelling with different return periods was used, as input, within the FloodRisk model to reconstruct the socio-economic damages based on a case study showing how structural and non-structural measures can significantly decrease the cost of floods for households. The sensitivity of the FloodRisk model was also examined and it was found to be highly dependent on the selection of damage functions and the economic values of the exposed assets
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