Assessing flash flood inundation from an extreme rainfall event: case study: Wadi Al Jizzi Oman

Abstract

Abstract Flash floods present a significant risk to urbanized arid regions, and assessing their inundation patterns is crucial for effective disaster management. Extreme hydrologic events due to aridity and climate change are shaping human lives and major activities in numerous countries at an unprecedented pace. This study aims to assess flash floods from extreme storm events in an arid catchment using high-resolution data. The study applied two models on the event of a single storm, namely the IHACRES and AHP models. The observed flow was used for models' validation. The average flow output determined with the IHACRES model was approximately 0.47 m3/s while the flow output resulting from the AHP model was 0.45 m3/s. The efficiency showed that the IHACRES performed better in evaluating extreme events with an average of 0.88 while the AHP model showed an efficiency of 0.68. The quantitative simulation of both models is likely to have good applicability for simulating single storm events in arid catchments. The validated IHACRES and AHP models offer valuable tools for simulating flash flood. The study's outcomes have implications for flood management policy and infrastructure planning, ensuring a more resilient response to extreme flood events in arid regions globally.