5 day course
Recent years have seen an apparent increase in flood events in the UK and the rest of Europe. The ‘risk’ of flooding can be considered as the product of the probability of a flood occurring and the consequences of the flood. This module considers the techniques for estimating flood probability, engineering and non-structural measures to reduce flood probability, economic techniques for evaluating flood consequences and current approaches to managing flood risk.
- introduction - definition of risk, source - pathway - receptor model, approaches to flood risk management
- roles and responsibilities for flood defence and risk management in the UK
- flood probability - probability and return period analysis of hydrological events
- design floods - estimation of peak flows using Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH and ReFH) methods, catchment characteristics method, storm hydrographs and unit hydrograph methods
- engineered solutions - flood routing and flood alleviation: channel & reservoir routing, flood banks, channel improvements, diversion schemes, flood storage on-stream and off-stream
- non-structural issues - approaches to the reduction of flood impacts, including; flood warning, emergency response, land use planning.
On successful completion of this course the delegate will be able to:
- Select the appropriate method to determine the likelihood of a flow of a given magnitude for ungauged catchments and for catchments with some historical data.
- Critically use the Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH) method to estimate the likelihood of peak flows in ungauged catchments in the UK.
- Evaluate the impacts of alternative channel designs for flood alleviation.
- Understand the technical and non-technical approaches to flood risk management at the catchment scale.
- Understand the current policy for flood risk management in the UK and elsewhere.