New Paradigms in Flood Hazard and Risk Management

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 8291

Special Issue Editor

Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Interests: flood and landslide risk assessment and management; smart structure and structure health monitoring for geo-hydrological hazards management; river hydraulics and hydrology

Special Issue Information

Flood hazard is still one of the major causes of damage to our communities. The last century has left us a vision largely based on systems of “hard” engineering works, in the idea that this could be the way to reach (in a sustainable period of time) an acceptable level of risk. Actually, in particular with regard to the Mediterranean countries, the situation remains absolutely critical, with a continuously rising count of victims and significant damages every year.

While on the one hand, this may be due to the effects of climate change with an increase in extreme events, on the other hand it clearly seems to indicate the need for new paradigms. The technological evolution of forecasting systems, sensors and their integration, the smart structures and the relative remote control have in fact broken down the barrier that separates structural and non-structural action and determined the start of a different approach in risk management.

The Special Issue aims to gather new contributions emphasizing different aspects of new paradigms in flood risk management. Proposed topics may refer (but are not necessarily limited to) the following: flood forecasting modeling, sensor technology, sensor integration and fusion hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, flood damage assessment, flood hazard and susceptibility mapping, information to the public and data visualization techniques in emergency. In a multi-hazard approach, topics may be extended to gravitative processes such as avalanches, debris flows, mud flows and so on.

Submitted contributions will go through a peer review process performed by independent reviewers. Original case studies and review papers are invited for publication in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Menduni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • flood hazard
  • river hydrology
  • climate change
  • river hydraulics
  • sensor fusion
  • sensor integration
  • smart structures
  • structure health modeling

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 7746 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Strategic Hydraulic Infrastructures by Brillouin Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors
by Manuel Bertulessi, Daniele Fabrizio Bignami, Ilaria Boschini, Marco Brunero, Maddalena Ferrario, Giovanni Menduni, Jacopo Morosi, Egon Joseph Paganone and Federica Zambrini
Water 2022, 14(2), 188; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14020188 - 10 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1972
Abstract
We present a case study of a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) hybrid system based on Brillouin Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors (D-FOS), Vibrating Wire (VW) extensometers and temperature probes for an existing historical water penstock bridge positioned in a mountain valley in Valle d’Aosta [...] Read more.
We present a case study of a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) hybrid system based on Brillouin Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors (D-FOS), Vibrating Wire (VW) extensometers and temperature probes for an existing historical water penstock bridge positioned in a mountain valley in Valle d’Aosta Region, Northwestern Italy. We assessed Brillouin D-FOS performances for this kind of infrastructure, characterized by a complex structural layout and located in a harsh environment. A comparison with the more traditional strain monitoring technology offered by VW strain gauges was performed. The D-FOS strain cable has been bonded to the concrete members using a polyurethane-base adhesive, ensuring a rigid strain transfer. The raw data from all sensors are interpolated on a unique general timestamp with hourly resolution. Strain data from D-FOS and VW strain gauges are then corrected from temperature effects and compared. Considering the inherent differences between the two monitoring technologies, results show a good overall matching between strain time series collected by D-FOS and VW sensors. Brillouin D-FOS proves to be a good solution in terms of performance and economic investment for SHM systems on complex infrastructures such as hydropower plants, which involve extensive geometry combined with the need for detailed and continuous strain monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Paradigms in Flood Hazard and Risk Management)
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23 pages, 10265 KiB  
Article
A Novel Hybrid Approach Based on Cellular Automata and a Digital Elevation Model for Rapid Flood Assessment
by Obaja Triputera Wijaya and Tsun-Hua Yang
Water 2021, 13(9), 1311; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13091311 - 07 May 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3265
Abstract
An efficient inundation model is necessary for emergency flood responses during storm events. Cellular automata (CA)-based flood models have been proven to produce rapid results while maintaining a certain degree of accuracy. However, the need for computational resources dramatically increases when the number [...] Read more.
An efficient inundation model is necessary for emergency flood responses during storm events. Cellular automata (CA)-based flood models have been proven to produce rapid results while maintaining a certain degree of accuracy. However, the need for computational resources dramatically increases when the number of grid cells increases. Digital elevation model (DEM)-based models generate results even faster, but the simplified governing equations within the models fail to reflect temporal flood evolution. To achieve rapid flood modeling while maintaining model simplicity, a novel two-dimensional hybrid inundation model (HIM) was developed by combining the CA- and DEM-based concepts. Given the temporal flood evolution generated by the CA concept, final finer-scale predictions were obtained by applying the DEM-based concept. The performance of this model was compared to those of widely used, physically based hydraulic models using three UK Environment Agency (EA) benchmark test cases. The HIM yielded consistent prediction results but was faster than the CA-based model. Finally, a comparison was made against flood observations, and the overall root mean squared error (RMSE) for flood depth was 0.388–0.400 m. Considering the uncertainty in the observed flood depths, the HIM shows promising potential to serve as an intermediate tool for emergency response in practical cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Paradigms in Flood Hazard and Risk Management)
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17 pages, 4421 KiB  
Article
A Zero-Order Flood Damage Model for Regional-Scale Quick Assessments
by Arianna Pogliani, Manuel Bertulessi, Daniele F. Bignami, Ilaria Boschini, Michele Del Vecchio, Giovanni Menduni, Daniela Molinari and Federica Zambrini
Water 2021, 13(9), 1292; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13091292 - 04 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2138
Abstract
Quantitative data on observed flood ground effects are precious information to assess current risk levels and to improve our capability to forecast future flood damage, with the final aim of defining effective prevention policies and checking their success. This paper presents the first [...] Read more.
Quantitative data on observed flood ground effects are precious information to assess current risk levels and to improve our capability to forecast future flood damage, with the final aim of defining effective prevention policies and checking their success. This paper presents the first collection and analysis of flood damage claims produced in Italy in the past 7 years since a homogeneous national procedure for damage recognition became available. The database currently contains more than 70,000 claims referring to significant events and shows good homogeneity on the intensity of the related phenomena. We then propose an empirical model, based on observed data, to allow for a quick estimation of direct damage to private assets (i.e., residential buildings), based only on the knowledge of the perimeter of the flooded area. Single model calibration was performed at the multi-regional scale, focused on southern Italy. Model validation shows encouraging performances, considering the considerable natural uncertainty that characterizes this type of estimate. The procedure is of great interest when there is a need to evaluate, however roughly, flood damage in the immediacy of the event to assess the extent of the flood effects and to plan support actions for the affected communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Paradigms in Flood Hazard and Risk Management)
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16 pages, 2943 KiB  
Article
Conceptualization and Prototype of an Anti-Erosion Sensing Revetment for Levee Monitoring: Experimental Tests and Numerical Modeling
by Manuel Bertulessi, Daniele F. Bignami, Ilaria Boschini, Andrea Chiarini, Maddalena Ferrario, Nicola Mazzon, Giovanni Menduni, Jacopo Morosi and Federica Zambrini
Water 2020, 12(11), 3025; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12113025 - 28 Oct 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1918
Abstract
The problem of levee embankment control during high flows is crucial for flood risk management in floodplains. Levee defense lines are often hundreds of kilometers long and surveys during emergencies are not easy tasks. For these reasons, levees monitored with in situ sensors [...] Read more.
The problem of levee embankment control during high flows is crucial for flood risk management in floodplains. Levee defense lines are often hundreds of kilometers long and surveys during emergencies are not easy tasks. For these reasons, levees monitored with in situ sensors and a suitable Information Technology (IT) real-time data communication and integration infrastructure, so-called “smart levees”, are gaining increasing interest as a crucial protection technology in floodplains. The paper presents the conceptualization of a prototype of a levee smart revetment, based on the integration of an optical fiber (OF) cable into a steel double-twisted wire mesh. In this paper the feasibility of this kind of revetment is firstly assessed. The flow pattern of overtopping water on the embankment is discussed, thus producing a raw estimation of the shear stress acting on the revetment in the field. A sample case is then analyzed in both numerical and laboratory tests. For this purpose, a numerical Finite Element Model (FEM) to describe the mechanical behavior of a double-twisted wire mesh when loaded along its own plane is presented. Numerical results indicate that the related strain, relatively low as compared to the steel wire yield stress, can be fully detected by the optical fiber continuous Brillouin sensor. This has been validated by the experimental activity performed and a digital twin of the prototype of the smart revetment, suitable for virtually testing the product under any load and constraint conditions and tailoring the production process, has been created. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Paradigms in Flood Hazard and Risk Management)
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