Abstract
The CyFFORS (Cyprus Flood Forecasting System) project aims at increasing flood risk awareness and promoting preparedness against flooding by developing and validating a pilot flood forecasting system targeted over three river/stream basins in the Larnaca region, Cyprus, and Attica region, Greece. The present study demonstrates the analysis of flood-associated information, based on ground-based and ERA5 model reanalysis data, which is a necessary procedure prior to the development of the hydrometeorological modeling tool, in one of the study areas, namely in the Rafina catchment in Attica, Greece. The analysis focusses on 12 stream flood episodes that occurred in the period 2008–2014. The results show that most events were associated with a typical, for the study area, wet-season cyclonic activity. The detailed investigation of two case studies highlighted important spatiotemporal differences in the generation and development of rainfall, as well as in the flooding magnitude, which were related to specific characteristics of the synoptic-scale forcing, topography and soil moisture preconditioning. Moreover, highly correlated positive relationships were found between the observed maximum stream discharge and the duration and maximum total accumulation of precipitation. A strong positive correlation was also evident between the peak discharge and the flooding impacts, leading to the identification of preliminary discharge thresholds for impact-based warnings, which can be applied to the pilot CyFFORS forecasting system.
Highlights
Flood-associated events, including river/stream floods, triggered by heavy precipitation are among the most frequent weather-related hazards [1] affecting, substantially, the natural and human environment
This outcome was expected, since heaviest precipitation amounts and greater resulting impact occur during the wet season of a hydrological year compared to the period between May and September [14,51,52]
This is due to the global atmospheric circulation during the autumn and winter, which interacts with the complex geomorphology and land-sea temperature contrast in the Eastern Mediterranean region, favoring the development of cyclonic atmospheric conditions [14,53]
Summary
Flood-associated events, including river/stream floods, triggered by heavy precipitation are among the most frequent weather-related hazards [1] affecting, substantially, the natural and human environment. Greco et al [33] combined ground-based observations and large-scale modeling products to identify and study the synoptic fields associated with the rainfall patterns in Calabria region (Italy), giving special emphasis on very extreme episodes Their analysis allows for improving the predictability of rainfall-related phenomena and the design of damaging event scenarios, considering extraordinary extreme episodes, the characterization of which is of particular interest in flood management, as they occur at small spatiotemporal scales and at high return periods (i.e., they have low frequency of occurrence), inducing severe impacts to society [34]. An impact intensity categorization is introduced to classify the flood-induced socio-economic impacts and investigate their link to the peak
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
