Estimating the flash flood quantitative parameters affecting the oil-fields infrastructures in Ras Sudr, Sinai, Egypt, during the January 2010 event

Abstract

This paper aims to quantify the hydrological parameters for the flash flood event of 17th January 2010 in Sinai using multiple sets of remote sensing data and field work for the nongaged catchments (approximately 2100sqkm) of the wadis affecting Ras Sudr area, which is heavily occupied by numerous oil fields and related activities. The affected areas were visited, and several cross sections of the main active channels were surveyed to estimate the peak discharge rates. The Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) data have been used to estimate rainfall parameters for the catchments due to the absence of in situ data. The digital elevation model (DEM) of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was used to extract the hydrographic data following standard procedures and techniques of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Both of the surveyed and extracted parameters for the active channels were integrated into GIS to estimate the runoff parameters using the open-channel flow equation of Manning’s. The simulated hydrographs show that the total discharge exceeded 5.7million cubic meters and the peak discharge rate was 70 cubic meters per second. The mitigation of extreme flash flood is possible by altering the natural flow dispersion over the alluvial fan, and conveying the resulting flows into one adjusted channel.