Enhancing flood hazard estimation methods on alluvial fans using an integrated hydraulic, geological and geomorphological approach

Enhancing flood hazard estimation methods on alluvial fans using an integrated hydraulic, geological and geomorphological approach

Due to the uncertainty concerning the location of flow paths on active alluvial fans, alluvial fan floods could be more dangerous than riverine floods. The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) used a simple stochastic model named FAN for this purpose, which has been practiced for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Natural hazards and earth system sciences Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 1159 - 1171
Main Authors: Mollaei, Zeinab, Davary, Kamran, Hasheminia, Seyed Majid, Faridhosseini, Alireza, Pourmohamad, Yavar
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 16-04-2018
Copernicus Publications
Subjects:
100 year floods
Alluvial fans
Analysis
Computer models
Developed countries
Developing countries
Emergency management
Emergency preparedness
Environmental aspects
Flood control
Flood hazards
Flood management
Floods
Flow paths
Geographic information systems
Geographical information systems
Geomorphology
Hazards
Information systems
Landforms
LDCs
Mathematical models
Methods
Natural history
Satellite navigation systems
Stochastic models
Stochasticity
Two dimensional models
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Summary:Due to the uncertainty concerning the location of flow paths on active alluvial fans, alluvial fan floods could be more dangerous than riverine floods. The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) used a simple stochastic model named FAN for this purpose, which has been practiced for many years. In the last decade, this model has been criticized as a consequence of development of more complex computer models. This study was conducted on three alluvial fans located in northeast and southeast Iran using a combination of the FAN model, the hydraulic portion of the FLO-2D model, and geomorphological information. Initial stages included three steps: (a) identifying the alluvial fans' landforms, (b) determining the active and inactive areas of alluvial fans, and (c) delineating 100-year flood within these selected areas. This information was used as an input in the mentioned three approaches of the (i) FLO-2D model, (ii) geomorphological method, and (iii) FAN model. Thereafter, the results of each model were obtained and geographical information system (GIS) layers were created and overlaid. Afterwards, using a scoring system, the results were evaluated and compared. The goal of this research was to introduce a simple but effective solution to estimate the flood hazards. It was concluded that the integrated method proposed in this study is superior at projecting alluvial fan flood hazards with minimum required input data, simplicity, and affordability, which are considered the primary goals of such comprehensive studies. These advantages are more highlighted in underdeveloped and developing countries, which may well lack detailed data and financially cannot support such costly projects. Furthermore, such a highly cost-effective method could be greatly advantageous and pragmatic for developed countries.
ISSN:1684-9981
1561-8633
1684-9981
DOI:10.5194/nhess-18-1159-2018