Land Inundation Research Articles

Assessing the Status of Flood Hazard on the Bank of Mohana River in Kailari Rural Municipality

Purpose: Kailali holds number of rivers originating from Mahabharat range and Chure range which get flooded every year, causing high losses of agricultural land and the flooding at community level. In order to identify and understand the probable risks in the study area and the methodologies followed to get rid of the flood risk or to protect the land and community from the effect of flood. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study was conducted during the period from March 2022 to May 2023. Field observation, in-depth interview, focus group discussion and questionnaire survey were the major tool applied for the investigation. Findings/Results: The study found that the flood is the major hazard, and the earthquake is the minor one. River encroachment is the major one problem of the river training works and inadequate people’s awareness is the minor one. The river down to Chure carries lots of sediment and thus increasing the bed loads. Thus, Chure protection programs must be effectively executed so that the lower plain will be sediment less and the inundation of land will be reduced. Originality/Value: The paper contributes on the effective ways to protect community from flood hazards

Beyond inundation: a comprehensive assessment of sea level rise impact on coastal cultural heritage in China

The rise in sea levels, driven by global climate change, poses a significant threat to cultural heritage in coastal regions. Traditional risk assessment methods, focusing on direct inundation, often fail to consider the crucial impact of socio-economic factors, which are significantly vulnerable to sea level rise. To bridge this gap, this study introduces an innovative Sea Level Rise Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment Model (SLR-CHIA Model), a novel approach that integrates both land inundation and socio-economic aspects. This comprehensive model evaluates potential risks to various types of cultural heritage in coastal China, including intangible cultural heritage, relics, and traditional villages. The study’s findings are striking: (1) About 7.79% of coastal villages, 53.94% of relics, and 2.53% of intangible cultural heritage are potentially at high risk in a 100-year sea level rise event; (2) Relics in the Eastern coast and villages in the Southern coast are most vulnerable; (3) Different types of cultural heritage rely on diverse principal factors for protection, resulting in varied risk levels under sea level rise conditions. The SLR-CHIA Model provides a vital methodological framework for evaluating cultural heritage risks in other global regions.

ANALYSIS OF METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF A COKE PLANT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

This academic paper explores various assessment methods used to evaluate the environmental impact of industrial enterprises, specifically focusing on coke plants. The study emphasises the widespread use of a global risk-based approach for assessing the environmental risks posed by such enterprises to both the environment and public health. This approach involves predicting potential future environmental consequences under different scenarios, with the choice of a specific method dependent on the particular conditions, objectives, and available resources.The analysis of these assessment methods reveals the prevalence of an integrated approach, which comprehensively evaluates multiple aspects of an industrial enterprise’s environmental impact. Moreover, the research underscores the importance of adopting modern technologies and strategies to enhance water supply and wastewater management efficiency for environmental preservation.The assessment of the ‘Kharkiv Coke Plant’ indicates minimal impact on land inundation issues, with little effect on groundwater quality. However, the excessive consumption of freshwater remains a significant concern, necessitating improved efficiency in the operation of the plant’s wastewater recycling systems. To evaluate the enterprise’s influence on surface waters, notably the Lopan and Udy rivers, the paper calculates the volume and flow of wastewater originating from the facility’s premises.Additionally, environmental impact assessment is conducted using key environmental indicators, including the alarm index, hazard index, and priority index. In light of the identified environmental challenges at the investigated industrial facility, including wastewater discharge into the municipal sewerage system, high water consumption, and phenol emissions from the quenching tower, the paper proposes a solution. This solution entails enhancing the plant’s water recycling infrastructure through the implementation of a closed-loop water recycling system and improving the efficiency of the biochemical plant. This approach aims to mitigate the environmental impact of the enterprise while promoting sustainable water management practices. Keywords: environmental problems, water resources, degree of pollution, enterprises.

Assessing demographic and economic vulnerabilities to sea level rise in Bangladesh via a nighttime light-based cellular automata model

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report (AR6) forecasts a sea level rise (SLR) of up to 2 m by 2100, which poses significant risks to regional geomorphology. As a country with a rapidly developing economy and substantial population, Bangladesh confronts unique challenges due to its extensive floodplains and 720 km-long Bay of Bengal coastline. This study uses nighttime light data to investigate the demographic repercussions and potential disruptions to economic clusters arising from land inundation attributable to SLR in the Bay of Bengal. By using geographical information system (GIS)-based bathtub modeling, this research scrutinizes potential risk zones under three selected shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios. The analysis anticipates that between 0.8 and 2.8 thousand km2 of land may be inundated according to the present elevation profile, affecting 0.5–2.8 million people in Bangladesh by 2150. Moreover, artificial neural network (ANN)-based cellular automata modeling is used to determine economic clusters at risk from SLR impacts. These findings emphasize the urgency for land planners to incorporate modeling and sea inundation projections to tackle the inherent uncertainty in SLR estimations and devise effective coastal flooding mitigation strategies. This study provides valuable insights for policy development and long-term planning in coastal regions, especially for areas with a limited availability of relevant data.

Storm Surge Inundation Modulated by Typhoon Intensities and Tracks: Simulations Using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)

Storm surges are one of the most severe marine hazards, causing fatalities and devastating infrastructure. It is important to conduct research on storm surge hazards to achieve disaster avoidance and the protection of local populations. In this study, the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) was used to develop a framework to simulate the inundation (using the wet/dry method) of land in Ningbo, China during an extreme typhoon storm surge. The baseline simulation with the realistic typhoon intensity and track was well validated by meteorological and ocean tidal observations. Using reanalysis and an asymmetric typhoon wind field from the Holland model as atmospheric forcing, we presented different storm surge inundation scenarios regarding various intensities and tracks. The results revealed that typhoon storm surges are significantly affected by both the intensities and tracks of typhoons. Specifically, when Ningbo was located in the navigable semicircle, increasing the typhoon intensity not only resulted in the total inundation area of the whole study area from 108.57 km2 to 139.97 km2, but also led to significant negative storm surges in some sea areas. When Ningbo was exposed to the dangerous semicircle of the intensified typhoon, the storm surge along the coast of the Xiangshan Bay could exceed 4 m, amplifying the total inundation area to 245.41 km2. Thus, it was evident that the location of the impacted region within the typhoon’s wind field plays a critical role in determining the severity of the storm surge. These results provide valuable suggestions for storm surge disaster prevention and mitigation for local governments.

New indicator of habitat functionality reveals high risk of underestimating trade-offs among sustainable development goals: The case of wild reindeer and hydropower

Although biodiversity is crucial for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), following the current trajectory, we risk failing SDG 15. Using a new indicator quantifying the loss of functional habitat (habitat that is simultaneously suitable and well-connected), we show that the real impact of renewable energy is far larger than previously assumed. Specifically, we estimate that the construction of hydropower reservoirs in south Norway caused a loss of ca. 222 km2 of functional habitat for wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)—which is far larger than assumed based on land inundation indices (110 km2). Fully mitigating these impacts is challenging: scenario analyses reveal that the measures proposed by societal actors would yield only a fraction of the habitat lost (2–12 km2) and could cause trade-off risks with other SDGs. Using indices of functional connectivity is crucial for environmental impact assessments, as entire ecological networks for several species can be affected far beyond the reservoirs.

River Flood Early Warning System Based on Internet of Things in Binjai City

Flood is an event of inundation of land, which is usually dry, by water originating from water sources around the land. Binjai City is an area prone to flash floods. This is because in Binjai City there are 5 (five) upstream rivers namely the Bingei river, Mencirim river, Bangkatan river, Diski river and Rambai river. A flood early warning system is a series of systems that function to notify an impending flood disaster. With the existence of a flood early warning system, it can provide information to the community and can reduce victims or losses due to the community's unpreparedness in dealing with flood disasters. This study aims to create a prototype of a river flood early warning system based on the internet of things (IoT). The method used is to design and create a flood early warning system prototype, then perform system testing. The system is designed using the Arduino Mega2560 microcontroller as the system control center, the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors and the ESP32-Cam camera module as system input, as well as buzzer, LCD and website as system output. The transmission medium used is wireless via a 4G WiFi Modem connected to the internet. System prototype testing will be carried out in the Bangkatan river area in Binjai City. From the results of the discussion, it was found that the river flood warning system using the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor and the ESP32-Cam camera module based on the Internet of Things was successfully designed and implemented in prototype form and worked well. Ultrasonic sensors work well in measuring river water level with an average error percentage of 3.642%. The ESP32-Cam camera module works well in capturing images of river water conditions up to a distance of 200 cm. (9 pt).

National assessment of extreme sea-level driven inundation under rising sea levels

Episodic inundation from extreme sea-levels (ESLs) will have increasing social and economic impacts in response to relative sea level rise (RSLR). Despite the improved global understanding of ESL frequencies and magnitudes, detailed nationwide inundation maps are unavailable for many countries. This study quantifies New Zealand’s land area exposure to inundation from ESLs and RSLR by: (i) calculating ESL heights for nine annual recurrence intervals (ARI) between 2 and 1,000-years, (ii) converted into space-varying water surface grids, (iii) developing a composite topographical dataset comprised of Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and bias corrected Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), (iv) modifying topographical data to represent mitigation structures, and (v) executing a scalable static model to map land inundation areas for 0.1 m RSLR increments. This modular approach supports continuous integration of new models and data at resolutions appropriate for quantifying inundation hazard and risk trends. In response to 0.1 m–0.4 m RSLR expected in the New Zealand region from 2040 to 2070 under SSP5-8.5 global mean sea level rise scenarios, a rapid cumulative inundation area increase is observed for 10 and 100-year ESL ARIs at national and regional levels. The RSLR time independent maps developed here supports future investigations of ESL inundation hazards and risks for any prescribed RSLR heights or timeframes.

Toward Collaborative Adaptation: Assessing Impacts of Coastal Flooding at the Watershed Scale.

The U.S. Mid-Atlantic coastal region is experiencing higher rates of SLR than the global average, especially in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where this acceleration is primarily driven by land subsidence. The adaptation plans for coastal flooding are generally developed at the municipal level, ignoring the broader spatial implications of flooding outside the individual administrative boundaries. Flood impact assessments at the watershed scale would provide a more holistic perspective on what is needed to synchronize the adaptation efforts between the neighboring administrative units. This paper evaluates flooding impacts from sea level rise (SLR) and storm surge among watersheds in Hampton Roads to identify those most at risk of coastal flooding over different time horizons. It also explores the implications of flooding on the municipalities, the land uses, and land covers throughout this region within the case study watershed. The 2% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) storm surge flood hazard data and NOAA's intermediate SLR projections were used to develop flooding scenarios for 2030, 2060, and 2090 and delineate land areas at risk of combined flooding. Findings show that five out of 98 watersheds will substantially increase in inundation, with two intersecting multiple municipalities. They also indicate significant inundation of military, commercial, and industrial land uses and wetland land covers. Flooding will also impact residential land use in urban areas along the Elizabeth River and Hampton city, supporting the need for collaborative adaptation planning on hydrologically influenced spatial scales.

농경지 수재해 선제적 대응을 위한 공간정보기반 시뮬레이션 활용 연구

Due to global warming and changes in the natural environment, flood damage to agricultural land due to wind and flood damage continues. Although disaster prevention projects have been continuously carried out since the founding of the country, progress has been insufficient compared to the sustained period, and huge costs are still being consumed. Therefore, it is necessary to use predictive simulation for pre-emptive response to inundation of farmland. In this paper, a case of immersion analysis simulation using a GIS(Geospatial Information System) based SWMM model was introduced, and the validity was confirmed through the error rate between our simulation result and the results of other models in the US and Korea. In addition, in the direction of using the simulation for agricultural land inundation, we presented various utilization methods to supplement the current agricultural land inundation-based information policy, such as the creation of flood traces. If simulation results from more regions are accumulated in the form of the flood analysis maps in the future, it is expected that they will be able to be utilized in various applications for preemptive response to and prevention of water disasters at the national level.

Excessive Water and Drainage Management in Agriculture: Disaster, Facilities Operation and Pollution Control

Floods and waterlogging are among the main natural disasters affecting agriculture, causing land inundation or excess soil water during and after extreme rainfall events, which drastically affects crop productivity and food security [...]

Accuracy assessment of open-source global digital elevation models (GDEMs) with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) levelling

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER ), Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010), Advanced Land Observing Satellite World-3D (ALOSW3D), and TerraSAR-X Digital Elevation Measurement (TanDEM-X) are open-source Digital Elevation Model (DEM) datasets for environmental modelling and studies. The spatial resolution and vertical accuracy of DEM data sources play a significant role, particularly in dealing with land inundation, periodic flooding, and coastal erosion. In this study, the comparison between orthometric height, H from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observation, and DEM is performed to evaluate the accuracy of each DEM in terms of their Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient, R2 for monitoring the coastline. The result has indicated that TanDEM-X shows the smallest RMSE of 2.574 m compared to SRTM30, SRTM90, ASTER, GMTED10, and ALOSW3D with RMSE of 2.968 m, 3.006 m, 3.217 m, 2.975 m, and 2.876 m respectively. Furthermore, TanDEM-X illustrates the largest correlation coefficients, R2 of 0.959 m, compared to SRTM30, SRTM90, ASTER, GMTED10, and ALOSW3D at 0.891 m, 0.899 m, 0.590 m, 0.888 m 0.913 m respectively. Hence, the result has indicated that TanDEM-X is the best option among all DEMs for any topographic applications.

Tidal change in response to the relative sea level rise and marsh accretion in a tidally choked estuary

Tidal range is a key factor for flooding, mixing, and transport in estuaries. Sea level rise is expected to change tidal range in the future. This change is complex, and has been showed to either increase or decrease, and vary along the estuary axis. Large changes are expected to occur in costal Louisiana, as it is experiencing some of the highest relative sea level rise (RSLR) rates in the continental USA (0.92 cm yr−1). A finite volume community ocean model was used to investigate how tidal dynamics in Barataria Bay estuary will be affected by future RSLR and marsh accretion scenarios. Under the present sea level condition, five major tidal choking areas – where tidal range reduces sharply, and phase lags develops – were identified. RSLR reduced tidal choking intensity and thus increased tidal range within the estuary. Contrary to previous modeling analyses in other estuaries suggesting that flooding of the low-lying land with sea level rise would increase frictional effects and thus reduce tidal range, this study suggested that tidal range in a choked tidal system like Barataria Bay increases even when accompanied by extensive land inundation. This occurs because the channel conveyance effects are larger than the frictional effects of the low-lying areas. In the lower and the middle bay, the largest increase in tidal range occurred when the marsh area was assumed to keep pace with RSLR. Under this condition, mean tidal range could increase by a maximum of 16 cm compared to the present-day sea level condition. However, in the upper bay the largest increase in tidal range occurred when no accretion was assumed. Under this condition, mean tidal range could increase by a maximum of 13 cm. RSLR also induced amplification of tides at the head of the estuary. A detailed momentum balance analysis indicated that sea level rise shifts tidal wave regime from a dissipative tidal wave to a progressive wave, which is more susceptible to tidal amplification.

Floods and Mitigation Techniques – Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai & Kolkata

Abstract: Floods are water-induced disasters that lead to temporary inundation of dry land cause severe damage to the target location, such as human loss and properties and infrastructures. Knowing that floods are part of human life and that this natural phenomenon can't be fully controlled, it's essential to focus on necessary steps to improve knowledge about preventing damages. This project discusses the floods in major cities in India – Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi, the main reasons behind it, and how to prevent the floods from happening on the whole.

Flood and drought risk assessment for agricultural areas (Tagus Estuary, Portugal)

Abstract. Estuaries are coastal systems particularly vulnerable to climate change. Within these systems, agriculture is one of the most potentially affected sectors. This paper proposes a risk assessment approach for helping the decision-making process at a local level, addressing two risks that affect agricultural areas located in estuarine margins: the unavailability of freshwater for irrigation resulting from the upstream propagation of estuarine brackish water during droughts and land inundation by high water levels associated with high tides and storm surges. For each risk, quantitative consequence descriptors are proposed to support risk level determination and evaluation through a continuous consequence–probability diagram. The approach applicability is discussed through its application to the Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira, located in the Tagus Estuary (Portugal). Results indicate that the approach is appropriate to support risk owners in taking actions to mitigate the risk. Examples of risk control measures for the risks addressed are presented. The main strengths of the proposed approach are its flexibility to be adapted to local conditions and updated through time, as well as the ease of its application by the risk owner.

Assessing Damages to Built and Natural Environments: Linking Hydrodynamic and Geospatial Enviro-Economical Models

In this study, a novel framework was developed to provide a holistic damage assessment caused by severe hydrologic events whether individually or as a compound event. The novel framework uses a developed hurricane-specific water quality model, Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code-Storm Surge model (EFDC-SS) and an ArcGIS-based framework, the Facility Economic Damage and Environmental Release Planning (FEDERAP) to assess damages to the built and natural environment. The developed framework could be used to compare different hurricanes and storms with a focus on land inundation, spill destination in both land and water and their associated risks, as well as economic loss including both physical and secondary losses. The results showed different spreading mechanisms during surge and rainfall-based hurricanes. While storm surge pushed contaminants (from spills) upstream, the rainfall-based hurricane caused a larger footprint of contamination on land. Though different in spreading patterns, spills during both hurricane types can widely spread miles away from the release location in a very short period of time. The FEDERAP economic loss model showed that facility area, average land elevation, the number of storage tanks and process units at the facility, and daily production are key drivers in the calculated total losses for a given hydrologic event.

Numerical Simulation of Run-Up and Land Inundation on the Vegetated Sloping Beach

Vegetated areas on the beach can reduce tsunami heights and reduce the loss of life and property damage in coasts. Thick trunks and tangled branches attenuate tsunami waves. In this study, a numerical model is developed based on the finite volume method for simulating tsunami flooding. This model is used to simulate the solitary wave run-up propagation on sloping beaches with and without vegetation. The shallow water equations are used, also the effect of drag force due to vegetation is applied in the momentum equation. The HLLC approximate Riemann solver is selected, and the model is developed to second-order accuracy using the Weighted Average Flux method. After verification of the present model, the model is applied for simulation of solitary wave on a sloping beach. The present model results are compared to the available experimental data and another numerical model. The present numerical results reveal that as forest belt’s width increases, the height, velocity, and force of the tsunami waves decrease. Therefore, to further reduce the tsunami energy, a wider belt is recommended. Also, the effect of different tsunami wave heights on the rate of wave reduction has been investigated. In some areas, the presence of high tsunami waves causes to submerge the vegetation. Consequently, the drag force and the damping rate of the wave decrease. Therefore, the height of the forest zone and the height of the tsunami waves are important parameters.

Effects of sea level rise on salinity and tidal flooding patterns in the Guadiana Estuary

Abstract Sea level rise is a worldwide concern as a high percentage of the population is located in coastal areas. The focus of this study is the impact of sea level rise in the Guadiana Estuary, an estuary in the Iberian Peninsula formed at the interface of the Guadiana River and the Gulf of Cadiz. Estuaries will be impacted by sea level rise as these transitional environments host highly diverse and complex marine ecosystems. The major consequences of sea level rise are the intrusion of salt from the sea into fresh water and an increase in flooding area. As the physical, chemical, and biological components of estuaries are sensitive to changes in salinity, the purpose of this study is to further evaluate salt intrusion in the Guadiana Estuary caused by sea level rise. Hydrodynamics of the Guadiana Estuary were simulated in a two-dimensional numerical model with the MOHID water modeling system. A previously developed hydrodynamic model was implemented to further examine changes in salinity distribution in the estuary in response to sea level rise. Varying tidal amplitudes, freshwater discharge from the Guadiana River and bathymetries of the estuary were incorporated in the model to fully evaluate the impacts of sea level rise on salinity distribution and flooding areas of the estuary. Results show an overall increase in salinity and land inundation in the estuary in response to sea level rise.

Environmental and economic impacts of rising sea levels: A case study in Kuwait's coastal zone

From an environmental and economic perspective, Kuwait's coastal zone is highly vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR). This paper aims to assess SLR's impact on Kuwait's coastal zone at both the local and national level. The economic and environmental assessments focused on inundation of land, the population at risk, residential sector losses, and affected infrastructure under four SLR scenarios (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 m sea rise). Several spatial datasets comprising a digital elevation model, satellite images, and land use map were processed using ArcGIS 10. In addition, the rate of beach erosion from SLR was calculated by applying the Bruun rule. The results revealed that the governorates expected to be the most severely impacted were Hawalli and Kuwait Capital, in terms of both the number of affected people and the residential sector's economic losses. Although the Ahmadi governorate would experience a lower risk of inundation, its coastal area is home to the oil industry, including refineries, harbors, and several power and desalination plants. On a national scale, applying the Bruun rule revealed that the beaches investigated would be eroded entirely by a 1 m increase in sea level. Furthermore, if sea levels rose from 0.5 m to 2 m, 1.4%–4.8% of Kuwait's coastal zone would be inundated, forcing 0.28%–1% of residents to abandon their homes, causing residential losses of $3,463 to $11,142 million. In the same scenarios, the transportation sector would suffer damage to around 1.5%–5% of its road network. The impact of SLR would also extend to the natural environment of Kuwait Bay and caused damage to its ecosystems. The predicted consequences of SLR would vary from one area to another based on natural barriers, shoreline type, coastal structures, and the type of urban development. Therefore, national and local governments' response should consider the long-term consequences of SLR and initiate a proactive adaptation strategy.

A holistic view of Shisper Glacier surge and outburst floods: from physical processes to downstream impacts

We observed the surge velocity, terminus advance, lake formation and outburst, as well as its downstream impacts at Shisper Glacier in the Karakoram, Pakistan and suggest potential nature-based risk-reduction solutions. A recent surge started in late 2017 with increased velocity since April 2018 and a resulting terminus advance from June 2018. Bi-modal peak velocity of 19.2 ± 0.16 m/day was observed in April-May 2018 and May-June 2019. Also, the terminus advance blocked the river from the adjacent Muchuhar Glacier repeatedly since November 2018. Lake outbursts were observed in June 2019 and April 2020. Relying on observations of the lake area and peak discharge of 142 m3 s−1 in 2019 and 85 m3 s−1 April 2020, outburst were simulated using the BASEMENT software. Simulations and field observations show that even at high discharge, damages were mainly observed along the main river channel, causing strong bank erosion rather than widespread inundation of land. The ice-dammed lake is potentially hazardous until the blocked stream completely disappears in future. Our results suggest that the biggest lake outburst hazard lies in its erosion potential with damages to infrastructure closest to the river and large sediments transport to the downstream Hunza River.