Precipitation Study in Flood Zones: San Mateo Atenco, State of Mexico, Mexico Case Study

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This work is focused on analyzing the causes of flooding in the sub-basin belonging to the municipality of San Mateo Atenco: Almoloya-Otzolotepec, because the municipal territory is constantly threatened by hydrometeorological phenomena, such as hailstorms, frost and torrential rains. The maximum precipitation was analyzed in neighboring climatological stations and the precipitation at different return periods (2 to 1000) was determined through the Gumbel distribution, and its impact according to the Thiessen polygon method. With the information of the 24-hour intensities, the Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) curves and the hietogram of the study area were plotted using the alternating block method. The above procedure was applied to the precipitation data from the 9 stations that affect the basin. The approach proposed in this work considers all the precipitation variables for the best approximation of the phenomena that may occur in the basin; it is an innovative model because it considers the weighted averages of precipitation for each area of influence and its surroundings; this information is useful for the implementation of flood protection projects, adequate design of drainage and sewage systems, and a rational use of the resource to guarantee better living conditions for the inhabitants. According to the results obtained, there is a slow hydrological response and the areas with the greatest runoff potential (8383<CN<100) are located towards the central part of the basin where there is a significant concentration of bare soil.