Preliminary investigation on historical flood events using the HEC-HMS hydrological modelling for Kelantan River catchment

Abstract

Investigation on historical flood events in river catchment requires a proper estimation of discharge, that can achieve by developing hydrological modelling of the catchment. However, understanding the complex relationships between rainfall and runoff process is a complex task, and hydrologic models should be well-calibrated to make the application of the model effective. In this study, Hydrologic Engineering Center-hydrologic modelling system (HEC-HMS) has been developed for several sub-catchments in Kelantan River, Malaysia, for prediction of its hydrologic response and flood events for several return periods. The results are indicating the good performance of the HEC-HMS model for discharge simulation, in which the correlation coefficient (r) has been found to range from 0.64-0.98 and 0.75-0.95 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. The study also shows that the major floods in the Kelantan River catchment have been in line with the 50-year ARI design flood that been simulated by the model. The proposed HEC-HMS model could be beneficial to the studied catchment in terms of preparing a comprehensive guideline of a risk for the existing and future flood problems.