Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2024 | Viewed by 12080

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Interests: flood risk assessment; economic impact of floods; disaster resilience; climate change; disaster economics; risk management; global change; land use

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Flood risk has changed principally driven by climate change and urbanization. Frequency and intensity of heavy rains are projected to increase in the 21st century based on climate models, increased flash flooding and urban flooding resulted in severe socioeconomic impacts worldwide like Asia, Europe, Central and South America, North America, Africa. Asset value exposure at flood risk increased a lot in some local area and associated flood-induced economic loss increased. To cope with changing flood risk, it is imperative to better understand the causes, impacts, and disaster risk reduction measures of flood risk in order to reduce flood loss of life and property.

The aim of this Special Issue is to gather contributions on the latest developments in flood risk assessment and in flood risk management measures. The contributions to this Special Issue will encompass a broad spectrum of topics, including, but not limited to:

  • Projection of changes in hazard, exposure and risk related to flood risk
  • Flood disaster loss estimation models associated with tangible and intangible losses
  • Flood risk mitigation measures and flood risk management experiences
  • Adaptation measures under changing flood risk drivers
  • Risk communication in flood risk management
  • Novel approaches to identify higher flood risk areas in emergency management

Prof. Dr. Jidong Wu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • extreme rainfall, floods and flash floods
  • climate change, urbanization
  • socioeconomic impacts
  • responses, risk perception, risk communication
  • planning, hazard management, and adaptation

Published Papers (6 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 4189 KiB  
Article
Application of One-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Coupling Model in Complex River Channels: Taking the Yongding River as an Example
by Pingyu Lv, Lingling Kong, Ruiyuan Chuo, Haijiao Liu, Siyu Cai and Mengqi Zhao
Water 2024, 16(8), 1161; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w16081161 - 19 Apr 2024
Viewed by 266
Abstract
River conditions are complex and affected by human activities. Various hydraulic structures change the longitudinal slope and cross-sectional shape of the riverbed, which has a significant impact on the simulation of water-head evolution. With continuous population growth, the hydrological characteristics of the Yongding [...] Read more.
River conditions are complex and affected by human activities. Various hydraulic structures change the longitudinal slope and cross-sectional shape of the riverbed, which has a significant impact on the simulation of water-head evolution. With continuous population growth, the hydrological characteristics of the Yongding River Basin have undergone significant changes. Too little or too much water discharge may be insufficient to meet downstream ecological needs or lead to the wastage of water resources, respectively. It is necessary to consider whether the total flow in each key section can achieve the expected value under different discharge flows. Therefore, a reliable computer model is needed to simulate the evolution of the water head and changes in the water level and flow under different flow rates to achieve efficient water resource allocation. A one-dimensional hydrodynamic coupling model based on the Saint-Venant equations was established for the Yongding River Basin. Different coupling methods were employed to calibrate the coupling model parameters, using centralised water replenishment data for the autumn of 2022, and the simulation results were verified using centralised water replenishment data for the spring of 2023. The maximum error of the water-head arrival time between different river sections was 4 h, and the maximum error of the water-head arrival time from the Guanting Reservoir to each key cross-section was 6 h. The maximum flow error was less than 5 m3/s, and the changing trend of the flow over time was consistent with the measured data. The model effectively solved the problem of low accuracy of the water level and flow calculation results when using the traditional one-dimensional hydrodynamic model to simulate the flow movement of complex river channels in the Yongding River. The output results of the model include the time when the water head arrives at the key section, the change process of the water level and flow of each section, the change process of the water storage of lakes and gravel pits, and the change process of the total flow and water surface area of the key section. This paper reports data that support the development of an ecological water compensation scheme for the Yongding River. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 22396 KiB  
Article
Rainfall Pattern Construction Method Based on DTW-HCA and Urban Flood Simulation: A Case Study of Nanchang City, China
by Yuze Wu, Ming Tang, Zuhao Zhou, Junying Chu, Yanlin Zeng, Mingjin Zhan and Wenbin Xu
Water 2024, 16(1), 65; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w16010065 - 23 Dec 2023
Viewed by 769
Abstract
Due to the different design standards of urban drainage and water conservancy facilities, numerous coordination and linkage issues arise when confronting extreme rainfall. In this paper, three clustering methods were used to cluster rainfall events, and the results demonstrate that the dynamic time [...] Read more.
Due to the different design standards of urban drainage and water conservancy facilities, numerous coordination and linkage issues arise when confronting extreme rainfall. In this paper, three clustering methods were used to cluster rainfall events, and the results demonstrate that the dynamic time warping-hierarchical clustering algorithm (DTW-HCA) effectively captures the temporal similarity of time series. Then, the Pilgrim and Cordery rainfall distribution method was utilized to extract the characteristics of eight clusters of rainfall events, and eight kinds of rainfall patterns were obtained. Last, after importing the rainfall patterns into the MIKE model of Qingshan Lake to conduct flood simulations, the impacts of different rainfall patterns on municipal systems and water conservancy systems were assessed by the depth and area of urban waterlogging, as well as the water levels and discharge of rivers. Based on this, three rainfall patterns are proposed as a designed rainfall pattern (DRP), an extreme rainfall pattern for urban drainage facilities verification (ERPUDFV) and an extreme rainfall pattern for water conservancy facilities verification (ERPWCFV), which aim to provide a reference basis for designing region-specific extreme rainfall patterns, as well as the verification of urban drainage and water conservancy facilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3377 KiB  
Article
Reconstruction of Urban Rainfall Measurements to Estimate the Spatiotemporal Variability of Extreme Rainfall
by Risma Joseph, P. P. Mujumdar and Rajarshi Das Bhowmik
Water 2022, 14(23), 3900; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14233900 - 30 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2388
Abstract
In recent decades, the impact of climate change on urban flooding has increased, along with an increase in urban population and urban areas. Hence, historical design storms require revisions based on robust intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) relationships. To this end, the development of an urban [...] Read more.
In recent decades, the impact of climate change on urban flooding has increased, along with an increase in urban population and urban areas. Hence, historical design storms require revisions based on robust intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) relationships. To this end, the development of an urban rain-gauge network is essential to yield the spatiotemporal attributes of rainfall. The present study addresses two objectives: (a) to reconstruct sub-daily rainfall time series for the historical period over an urban gauge network, and (b) to investigate the spatiotemporal variation in extreme rainfall distribution within a city. This study considers Bangalore, India, where rainfall has been historically monitored by two stations but a dense gauge network has recently been developed. The study applies random forest regression for rainfall reconstruction, finding that the performance of the model is better when the predictand and predictor stations are near to one another. Robust IDF relationships confirm significant spatial variations in extreme rainfall distribution at the station and the city-region levels. The areal reduction factor (ARF) is also estimated in order to understand the likely impact of the reconstructed time series on hydrological modeling. A significant decrease in the ARF is observed as the area grows beyond 450 km2, indicating a substantial reduction in the volume of the design floods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2645 KiB  
Article
A Review of Flood Risk in China during 1950–2019: Urbanization, Socioeconomic Impact Trends and Flood Risk Management
by Wei Ding, Jidong Wu, Rumei Tang, Xiaojuan Chen and Yingjun Xu
Water 2022, 14(20), 3246; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14203246 - 14 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4040
Abstract
China is one of the countries that are most severely affected by floods worldwide. Due to the geographical and climatic environment, floods frequently occur in China. Rapid socioeconomic growth and urban sprawl in the past decades have significantly changed both exposure and vulnerability [...] Read more.
China is one of the countries that are most severely affected by floods worldwide. Due to the geographical and climatic environment, floods frequently occur in China. Rapid socioeconomic growth and urban sprawl in the past decades have significantly changed both exposure and vulnerability dimensions of flood risk in China. In response to high risks of flood, the Chinese government has adopted a series of effective measures, such as the “Spongy City” Program and building many large dams and reservoirs, and some measures have achieved significant results. However, there is still a lack of studies with an integrated view on analyzing the causes, socioeconomic impact trends, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures of flood risk in China in the past decades. Accordingly, this paper aims to fill in the gap and provides some new insights into China’s contributions in DRR over the period of 1950–2019. Our results show that annual flood-induced fatalities and socioeconomic vulnerability to floods have significantly decreased in China, owing to a range of structural and non-structural measures. Nevertheless, China still faces the complex coupling effects of climate change and urbanization, and thus threats from extreme floods. In addition, China needs to further improve its flood risk management system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2552 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study on Water and Gas Permeability of Pervious Concrete
by Gang Wei, Kanghao Tan, Tenglong Liang and Yinghong Qin
Water 2022, 14(18), 2846; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14182846 - 13 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1799
Abstract
The water and gas permeability of pervious concrete play essential roles in rainwater infiltration and plant root respiration. In this study, the gas and water permeability of pervious concrete samples were measured and compared. The water permeability was tested using the constant water [...] Read more.
The water and gas permeability of pervious concrete play essential roles in rainwater infiltration and plant root respiration. In this study, the gas and water permeability of pervious concrete samples were measured and compared. The water permeability was tested using the constant water head method and several water heads were measured for inspection, in which the permeability varied with the application of the pressure gradient. The permeability of gas was measured using a new simple gas permeameter, which was specially manufactured for measuring the gas permeability of pervious concrete under a stable pressure difference. A series of different gas pressure gradients was applied to test whether the gas permeability was a function of the applied pressure. Both the gas and water permeability of pervious concrete were found to decrease with an increased applied pressure gradient, which did not conform to the Klinkenberg effect (gas slippage effect). When comparing the gas permeability and water permeability of pervious concrete, we found that the water permeability was 4–5 times larger than the gas permeability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2986 KiB  
Article
Identifying Characteristics of Guam’s Extreme Rainfalls Prior to Climate Change Assessment
by Myeong-Ho Yeo, James Pangelinan and Romina King
Water 2022, 14(10), 1578; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14101578 - 14 May 2022
Viewed by 1735
Abstract
Extreme rainfall and its consequential flooding account for a devastating amount of damage to the Pacific Islands. Having an improved understanding of extreme rainfall patterns can better inform stormwater managers about current and future flooding scenarios, so they can minimize potential damages and [...] Read more.
Extreme rainfall and its consequential flooding account for a devastating amount of damage to the Pacific Islands. Having an improved understanding of extreme rainfall patterns can better inform stormwater managers about current and future flooding scenarios, so they can minimize potential damages and disruptions. In this study, the scaling invariant properties of annual maximum precipitations (AMPs) are used for describing the regional patterns of extreme rainfalls over Guam. AMPs are calculated at seven stations in Guam and exhibit distinct simple scaling behavior for two different time frames: (1) from 15 min to 45 min; and (2) from 45 min to 24 h. With these two different behaviors, the conventional estimation methods for sub-hourly durations overestimate the frequencies at a site in which breakpoints are clearly observed, while the proposed Scaling Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) method, based on the Scaling Three-NCM (S3NCM) method, provides comparable estimates. A new regional extreme rainfall analysis approach based on scaling exponents is introduced in this study. Results show distinct extreme rainfall patterns over Guam. Moreover, the numerical and graphical analyses identify that a tropical cyclone may increase daily AMPs by 3%, on average. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urbanization, Climate Change and Flood Risk Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop