Establishment of flood damage function model for rural roads: A case study in the Teesta River basin, Bangladesh

Abstract

Numerous studies have focused on the impact of flooding on road transportation conditions. However, a specific methodology for estimating direct damage by floods on roads considering flood and road characteristics is still missing. To bridge this gap, detailed field studies were conducted in rural Bangladesh's Teesta River Basin. The questionnaire was designed to collect information regarding flood characteristics (quantitative flood depth and qualitative flood velocity), road structure (length, width, and height above the ground), structural damage mechanism, and damaged part dimensions (length, width, and thickness) for each road segment. A flood damage function model, which considers the effects of flood factors (depth and velocity) and road characteristics (top surface material, width, and height from the ground), was created using multiple regression analysis. The consistency of this model has been examined by estimating statistical parameters, such as the Akaike information criterion, correlation coefficient, and variance inflation factor. The results showed that earth roads have suffered significant damage in contrast to Bituminous concrete (BC) roads. Less flood damage may result from a road segment that is wider but has a low height from the ground. This study can provide a straightforward model for estimating road damage for flood events in future studies.