Flow-Tub model: a modified bathtub flood model with hydraulic connectivity and path-based attenuation

Abstract

Global climate change and sea level rise are increasing the risks of flooding for coastal communities. Probabilistic coastal flood risk analysis at regional or global scales requires flood models with relatively low data requirements and low computational costs. Bathtub inundation models, which compute flood depth as the difference between water level and ground elevation, are well- suited for large-scale flood risk analysis. However, these models may overestimate floods because they do not capture some of the relevant underlying hydrodynamic processes that govern flood propagation on land.We present Flow-Tub, a modified bathtub inundation model that integrates two hydrodynamic processes to improve the accuracy of the bathtub inundation model while retaining computational efficiency: hydraulic connectivity and path-based attenuation.1. Hydraulic connectivity ensures that inundation is restricted to areas connected to the water source.2. Path-based attenuation ensures that the modeled flood water depths are reduced along the flow paths to represent the effects of surface friction and the temporary nature of storm surges.We validate the Flow-tub model against a hydrodynamic model. We also compare results of the bathtub model and the Flow-Tub model, highlighting the improved accuracy in the estimation of flood depths in the latter.