FLOODS

https://www.earthnetworks.com/flooding/#flood-
cause-effect
 Flood : A flood is an
excess of water (or mud) on
land that's normally
dry andis a SITUATION
wherein the inundation is
caused by high flow, or
overflow of water in an
established watercourse,
such as a river, stream, or
drainage ditch; or ponding
of water at or near the
point where the rain fell.

This is a unpredictable -
duration type -natural and
inevitable event.
 FLOODS

FLOODS ARE NATURAL

PHENOMENA.
6/11/2013
FLOODS ARE WATER RELATED 4
 According to Duration : Slow-Onset
Flooding
Rapid-Onset Flooding
Flash Flooding

 According to Location : Coastal Flooding

Storm surge
River Flooding
Urban Flooding
 1. Riverine Floods: The majority of floods recorded globally are due to rivers
overflowing as a result of long-lasting precipitation in the river basin. Melting
snow and ice can also contribute to flooding.

2. Flash Floods : Flash floods generally occur due to local high-intensity

precipitation in hilly or mountainous areas. The short warning time makes
them difficult to predict. Discharges during flash floods are often much higher
than normal flows in water courses. Flash floods are particularly dangerous on
steep slopes.

3. Coastal Floods : Areas along the coast may be flooded due to tsunamis,
hurricanes or/and unusually high tides. Also long-term phenomena like
subsidence and sea-level rise can lead to the gradual encroachment of the sea.

4. Urban flooding : The urban area is paved with roads etc and the discharge of
heavy rain can’t absorbed into the ground due to drainage constraints leads to
flooding of streets, underpasses, low lying areas and storm drains

5. Stagnant and Urban Floods: Extreme rainfall in towns and cities combined with
blocked drains can cause severe flooding. This often occurs in urban areas,
where a large percentage of the surface is impermeable.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
• To identify the causes of floods
• To describe the overall impact of flooding
• To formulate a strategy for the flood affected
areas , with reference to
– MITIGATION,
– PREPAREDNESS,
– RESPONSE,
– RECOVERY.

6/11/2013 Floods- Disaster Managment 5

 Uncontrolled unplanned urbanization - Unauthorized colonies , Poor Water and Sewerage Management
 Deforestation + urbanization
 Lack of Flood Control Measures
 Lack of attention to the nature of hydrological system
 Slope Failures
 Type of River
 Intensity of Rainfall
 Topography
 Sedimentation of River/Reservoir
 Obstructions in River flow
 Contraction in River
 Seismic effects
VEGETATION COVER
This varies seasonally. The type and
amount will affect interception and
stemflow/throughfall. Overland flow is
reduced. Lag time will be increased.
ROCK TYPE
Impermeable rocks prevent groundwater
flow and encourage through flow and
overland flow. These rocks will decrease
lag time. Permeable rock will have the
opposite effect.

CLIMATE
The distribution of rainfall over the
LAKES & RESERVOIRS
year and the temperatures will
These will store floodwater and
affect the lag times.
FACTOR thus reduce lag time and control
S river response to heavy rainfall.
SLOPES
Steep slopes will encourage
overland flow and gentle
slope will slow run off down.

LAND USE SOIL TYPE & DEPTH

Impermeable surfaces Deep soils store more
created by urbanisation will water, pipes in the soil
RAINFALL INTENSITY &
reduce infiltration and encourage through flow.
DURATION
encourage overland flow. Soils with small pore
Intense rain will increase overland
Different types of crops spaces will reduce
flow and reduce lag times. Gentle
affect interception rates e.g. infiltration and increase
rain over a longer time will allow
cereals 7-15%. overland flow.
more infiltration.
Flood Mitigation/Control
 Flood control is an important issue throughout
the world
 Measures to reduce or alleviate the negative
consequences of flooding
 Range of options to be considered in flood
protection schemes
 Both structural and non-structural approaches

 These approaches must be weighted in terms of

costs and benefits
River Management

 Barriers: levees, floodwalls, storage basins,

riprap
 Adjustment: floodplain regulation (i.e.
zoning)
 Redesign: channelization
 Mitigation Mitigation
Measures Measures

Reservoirs-Flood gates
Flood plain zoning
Levees
Flood forecasting
Flood wall
Flood proofing
Watershed
Mathematical
Rain Water Harvesting
modeling
Channel improvement
Response
Drainage improvement
planning
Watershed management
 Reservoirs & Flood gates -
Reservoirs can moderate the intensity and timing of the
incoming flood.

Floodgates are used to control the flow of water and can

be a part of flood prevention.

Floodgates are often incorporated into reservoir,

river, stream, levee, or storm surge systems.

Water flow can be either partially restricted

or completely stopped, depending on the water level
and desired effect.

Expensive & potential error .

 A levee is a barrier built to keep a river,
 Levees - or other waterway away from people
or sensitive habitats.

Important considerations

First, it is important not to remove too much

floodplain storage. Excess removal could restrict
flood waters and slow drainage upstream.
Second, levees are designed to protect an area
from a certain flood level and storm intensity. If
these levels are exceeded, a levee may be
overtopped or may fail completely.
Third, in order for a levee to continue functioning
properly and provide security for those behind it, a
levee should be regularly inspected and
maintained.
 Floodwall -
When construction space is low then
a flood wall is implemented to protect
low lying area.

Does not reduce the flood flow

but reduce spilling

Acts as a retaining wall

Section : Rectangular trapezoidal

Sheet piling
 Mitigation Measures

• Watershed Management -
Long term effect

Examples ; Afforestation
Contour farming
Check dams
Bank protection
Diversion drains
Structural Approaches to Flood
Control
 Detention/retention Ponds, Dams/reservoirs
 Levees (dikes or flood embankments)
 Diversions
 Channel widening/modification

 Due consideration to be given to the design of hydraulic

structures to prevent from collapsing
 Collapsing may also cause further damage by the force of water
released from behind the structures
 Involves huge sums of capital investment
 Detention Ponds

GMU Pond

 Provide flood control

 Treat urban runoff
 Recreational spots
Riprap

 To add erosion-resistant material to a stream

bank
 Channelization
 Straightening, deepening
or lining a stream channel
to enable the channel to
carry larger discharge
without overtopping its
banks
 Channelization turns out
to have only temporary
beneficial effects and
environmental impacts
can be severe
 Mitigation Measures

• Flood plain zoning-

 Oftentimes floodplain management is not
contained in a single comprehensive
document, but instead is
incorporated
into other rules, guidelines, or
regulations, including:

• Floodplain Management Ordinance

• Encourage appropriate development
• Community Master Planning
• Flood Hazard Zoning
• Open Space Preservation Ordinance
• Education and Outreach
• Emergency Management Program
• Mapping Program or GIS
 Mitigation
Measures
• Flood forecasting
-  For emergency evacuation

 Flood forecasting through

range of hydrodynamic/
snowmelt / flood routing
models.

 Flood warnings

 CWC National Flood

Forecasting Network
Non-Structural Approaches to Flood
Control

 Preservation of natural wetlands

Floodplain Management
 Corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damages.
 Some of the measures are
 Floodplain management program

 Emergency preparedness plan

 Flood control works

 Floodplain management regulations

 Defines flood hazard area

 Investigates problems arisen in developed areas and potential
problems due to future development
Development and Flooding

 Increasing urbanization leads to increased

overbank flows (floods)
 More runoff and more stream runoff
FLOODS
IMPACTS
• Human Loss
• Property Loss
• Affects the Major Roads
• Disruption of Air / Train / Bus services
• Spread of Water-borne Communicable Diseases
• Communication Breakdown
• Electricity Supply Cut off
• Economic and Social Disruption
• Increase in Air / Water Pollution
6/11/2013 Floods- Disaster Managment 12
Flood forecasting

• Anticipating floods before they occur allows for precautions to be taken and
people to be warned so that they can be prepared in advance for flooding
conditions.
• For example,
– Farmers can remove animals from low-lying areas and utility services can put in place
emergency provisions to re-route services if needed. Emergency services can also make
provisions to have enough resources available ahead of time to respond to emergencies as
they occur.
• In order to make the most accurate flood forecasts for waterways, it is best to
have a long time-series of historical data that relates stream flows to
measured past rainfall events
• Radar estimates of rainfall and general weather forecasting techniques are
also important components of good flood forecasting.
Flood Control
• In many countries around the world, waterways prone to floods are often carefully
managed. Defences such as levees, bunds, reservoirs, and weirs are used to prevent
waterways from overflowing their banks.
• In the riparian zone near rivers and streams, erosion control measures can be taken
to try and slow down or reverse the natural forces that cause many waterways
to meander over long periods of time.
• Flood controls, such as dams, can be built and maintained over time to try and
reduce the occurrence and severity of floods as well.
Flood benefits
• Floods (in particular more frequent or smaller floods) can also bring many
benefits, such as
– Recharging ground water,
– Making soil more fertile and increasing nutrients in some soils.
• Flood waters provide much needed water resources in arid and semi-arid regions
where precipitation can be very unevenly distributed throughout the year.
• Freshwater floods particularly play an important role in maintaining ecosystems in
river corridors and are a key factor in maintaining floodplain biodiversity.
• Flooding can spread nutrients to lakes and rivers, which can lead to
increased biomass and improved fisheries for a few years.
• For some fish species, an inundated floodplain may form a highly
suitable location
for spawning with few predators and enhanced levels of nutrients or
food.
• Fish, such as the weather fish, make use of floods in order to reach new habitats.
Bird populations may also profit from the boost in food production caused by
flooding.
Flood Analysis

 Rainfall-runoff modeling

 Flood Frequency Analysis (Statistical methods)

Useful for developing floodplain management

strategies and designing infrastructure
Review: Flood Frequency Analysis

 There may be floods exceeding the design

specification of a structure
 What is a probability of those floods occurring
in any given year
 The probability of a flood exceeding or
equaling a given magnitude?
 Highest or peak discharges (floods) in each
year used for calculation
Routing

Routing is the process of predicting temporal

and spatial variation of a flood wave as it
travels through a river (or channel) reach or
reservoir
There are Hydrologic and Hydraulic Routings – here we will
study Hydrologic Routing
Flood/Channel Routing

 Once overland flow arrives at a stream it becomes

channel flow
 Routing
 To know how outflow from a reservoir/stream is related to its
inflow?
 What the downstream hydrograph (outflow) will be if
upstream hydrograph (inflow) is known?
Hydrologic Routing

 Known parameters:
 you have a hydrograph at one location (I)
 you have river characteristics
 Need:
 a hydrograph at different location (O)
 Hydrologic Routing
 In hydrologic routing techniques, equation of
continuity and an analytical/empirical relationship
between storage and outflow in a river or reservoir are
used
 Continuity Equation:
I – O = ΔS/Δt
Where:
I = Inflow rate
O = outflow rate
ΔS/Δt = rate of change of storage
Application of Flood Routing

 Flood prediction and flood warning

 Design of hydraulic structures (dams, spillways,

etc.)
 Evaluation of flood control measures

 Etc.
Two Flood Routing Problems

 Reservoir Routing (storage routing):

 Study of effect of a flood wave entering a reservoir

 River Routing (channel or stream flow routing):

 change in shape of hydrograph as it travels down a

channel is studied
Flood Routing in River

 Predicting temporal and spatial variation of a flood

wave as it travels through a river reach
 Flood waves passing down a river have their peaks
attenuated due to storage characteristics of the
stream reach if no lateral inflow is added
Muskingum Method
Muskingum Method
Muskingum Method
Muskingum Method
Estimation of K, X and Δt
 Flood Routing in Reservoir

 Reservoirs are important in flood control because

of large storage capacity
 Downstream hydrograph peaks are smaller in
magnitude and delayed in time
 Peak flow at the upstream side of the reservoir is controlled in such a
way that the flow at the downstream side is reduced to safe
discharge
 In figure below upstream hydrograph has higher peak with shorter
base
 Flood waves passing through a reservoir have their peaks attenuated
and time base enlarge due to storage

 Downstream hydrograph with lower peak

and broader base achieved by detaining
flood water for some time by closing the
spillways and then gradually releasing it
Flood routing involves
 Fixation of maximum reservoir level up to which
the structure is completely safe
 Implementation of outflow pattern from the
reservoir so that it may not create any danger in
the downstream side

Inflow = outflow + change in storage

Zones of Storage and Levels