Journal of Flood Risk Management 

About: Journal of Flood Risk Management is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Flood myth & Environmental science. It has an ISSN identifier of 1753-318X. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 867 publications have been published receiving 17151 citations.

Multi‐temporal synthetic aperture radar flood mapping using change detection

Abstract: A change detection and thresholding methodology has been adapted from previous studies to determine the extent of flooding for 13 Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar images captured during the floods of winter 2015–2016 in Yorkshire, UK. Both available polarisations, VH and VV, have been processed to allow for a comparison of their respective accuracy for delineating surface water. Peak flood extents are found on 29 December 2015 during the aftermath of storms Eva and Frank. Results have been validated against a Sentinel-2 optical image, with both polarisations producing a total accuracy of 97%. Of the two polarisations, VV produces fewer misclassifications, mirroring the similar results reported in previous research. Mapped results are compared to the Environment Agency Flood Maps for Planning (EA FMP), with good correlation observed for inundation on the floodplains. Differences occur away from the floodplains, with the satellite data identifying pluvial flooding not highlighted by the EA FMP.

Loss of life due to floods: Loss of life due to floods

Abstract: This article gives an overview of the research on loss of life due to floods. The limited information regarding this topic is presented and evaluated. Analysis of global data for different flood types shows that the magnitude of mortality is related to the severity of the flood effects and the possibilities for warning and evacuation. Information from historical flood events gives a more detailed insight into the factors that determine mortality for an event, such as flood characteristics and the effectiveness of warning and evacuation. At the individual level, the occurrence of fatalities will be influenced by behaviour and individual vulnerability factors. Existing methods for the estimation of loss of life that have been developed for different types of floods in different regions are briefly discussed. A new method is presented for the estimation of loss of life due to floods of low-lying areas protected by flood defences. It can be used to analyse the consequences and risks of flooding and thereby provide a basis for risk evaluation and decision-making. The results of this research can contribute to the development of strategies to prevent and mitigate the loss of life due to floods.

Assessing the utility of social media as a data source for flood risk management using a real-time modelling framework

Abstract: The utility of social media for both collecting and disseminating information during natural disasters is increasingly recognised. The rapid nature of urban flooding from intense rainfall means accurate surveying of peak depths and flood extents is rarely achievable, hindering the validation of urban flood models. This paper presents a real-time modelling framework to identify areas likely to have flooded using data obtained only through social media. Graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerated hydrodynamic modelling is used to simulate flooding in a 48-km2 area of Newcastle upon Tyne, with results automatically compared against flooding identified through social media, allowing inundation to be inferred elsewhere in the city with increased detail and accuracy. Data from Twitter during two 2012 flood events are used to test the framework, with the inundation results indicative of good agreement against crowd-sourced and anecdotal data, even though the sample of successfully geocoded Tweets was relatively small.

Economically efficient flood protection standards for the Netherlands

Abstract: Within the context of the Dutch Delta Programme,economically efficient flood protection standards for the entire Netherlands were calculated using a recently developed methodology for cost-benefit analysis and up-to-date insights into flood risk assessment. This results in economically efficient flood protection standards for different parts of the Netherlands that significantly differ from current legal flood protection standards. The cost-benefit analysis shows that it is economically efficient to raise protection standards especially along the rivers Rhine and Meuse, while for many dike ring areas in the coastal region, existing legal flood protection standards seem relatively high. An additional Monte Carlo analysis shows that in light of many uncertainties, these are also robust conclusions.The cost-benefit analysis does not support a general increase of the legal flood protection standards for all flood-prone areas in the Netherlands by (at least) a factor 10, as was recommended by the (second) Delta Committee in 2008.

Post‐flood field investigations in upland catchments after major flash floods: proposal of a methodology and illustrations

Abstract: Post-event survey and investigation is one way to gain experience on natural hazards. The importance of the systematisation and standardisation of such investigations and re-analysis is progressively recognised in all the geophysical sciences as shown by the growing number of scientific papers and programs on the subject. But how to proceed in the case of a flash floods, what type of data should be collected for what type of analyses and to explore which particular issues? To give a first answer to these questions, a methodology for post-flash flood field investigations has been developed under the EC FLOODsite project and tested under the EC HYDRATE project. This paper presents shortly the principles of this methodology and illustrates its application for the study of two major flash floods that occurred in November 1999 and September 2002 in the South of France.