An efficient flash flood forecasting system for the un-gaged Meghna basin using open source platform Delft-FEWS

Abstract

The northeast region of Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to flash floods which often damage the only crop of that region, the boro rice. Developing an efficient and real-time flash flood forecasting system for that region is found essential. The traditional model-centric approach requires plenty of time and manpower to effectively model flash floods. This paper discusses an open-source data-centric integrated flash flood modelling approach using a platform named Delft-FEWS. It is based on three inter-dependent models, e.g., meteorological, hydrologic, and hydrodynamic. The model was calibrated and validated with the flash flood data of 2010-12 and 2013-15, respectively. The performance of the model in real-time was assessed in the context of the 2021 flash flood season. In both cases, it performed satisfactorily. The entire system helps the practitioners to work in a flexible environment to generate flash flood forecasting and early warnings.