Probability assessment of flood and sediment disasters in Japan using the Total Runoff-Integrating Pathways model

Abstract

To address many of the problems faced in hydrological engineering planning, design, and management, a detailed knowledge of flood event characteristics, such as flood peak, volume, and duration is required. Flood frequency analysis often focuses on flood peak values and provides a limited assessment of flood events. To develop effective flood management and mitigation policies, estimation of the scale of potential disasters, incorporating the effects of social factors and climate conditions, is required along with quantitative measures of flood frequency. The Japanese flood risk index, the flood disaster occurrence probability (FDOP), was established based on both natural and social factors. It represents the expectation of damage in the case of a single flood occurrence, which is estimated by integrating a physical-based approach as a Total Runoff Integrating Pathways (TRIP) model with Gumbel distribution metrics. The resulting equations are used to predict potential flood damage based on gridded Japanese data for independent variables. This approach is novel in that it targets floods based on units of events instead of a long-term trend. Moreover, the FDOP can express relative potential flood risk while considering flood damage. The significance of the present study is that both the hazard parameters (which contribute directly to flood occurrence) and vulnerability parameters (which reflect conditions of the region where the flood occurred), including residential and social characteristics, were shown quantitatively to affect flood damage. This study examined the probability of flood disaster occurrence using the TRIP model for Japan (J-TRIP), a river routing scheme that provides a digital river network covering Japan. The analysis was based on floods from 1976 to 2004 associated with flood inundation and sediment disasters. Based on these results, we estimated the probability of flood damage officially reported for the whole region of Japan at a grid interval of 0.1 degrees. The relationship between the magnitude of the rain hazard expressed as the probability of exceedance and the probability of flood damage officially reported was expressed as an exponential function by equalizing the whole region of Japan based on excess probability. Moreover, the probabilities of flood damage occurrence according to social factors and changes in climate conditions were also examined. The probability of flood damage occurrence is high, especially in regions of high population density. The results also showed the effect of the dam maintenance ratio on extreme flooding and flood damage frequency. The probability of flood damage occurrence was expected to increase during extreme weather events at the end of this century. These findings provide a sound foundation for use in catchment water resources management.