Flood Risk Analysis in Potential Points, Zerin City in Erbil as a Case Study

Abstract

The city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region-Iraq, is exposed to frequent floods and cause human and material losses. The current research is analysis of floods as a case study on Zerin City, which was exposed to flood last session 2021-2022. The analysis is based on using different Hydrologic software and digital elevation models, soil data, rainfall data and land use data, were used in order to determine the boundary of catchment area, the area extension of flood plain, depth of flood, water velocity through hydrologic modeling. The results showed that there is a big similarity between the real flood and the modeled flood. Some of the natural water streamlines (valleys) have been filled and the remaining were unable to pass the excess flow generated by the storm. The agricultural lands were not ploughed due to the late rains in this season. Accordingly, increase in the curve number CN (the estimated CN was 79) have been used, the flood inundation, water depth, and velocity through the modeling rainfall storm of return period 50 years on the Zerin City has been done in modeling. The results are a scientific tool that can be used to assess the damages of the study area, and is useful for decision makers.