Developing a Flood Warning and Response System
ABSTRACT
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) assisted
the Philadelphia District to develop a Flood Warning and Response System
(FWRS) for Susquehanna River, PA. Additionally, HEC worked with the Fort
Worth District to apply a revised version of the FWRS to the San Antonio River,
TX and Cibilo Creek, TX river system.
The objective of the FWRS is to provide accurate and timely warnings in order to
maximize response time for floodplain residents and emergency managers while
also creating a flood plain management and planning tool for the region. The
FWRS incorporates aerial photography, terrain elevation data, channel geometry,
demographic and structural data, and transportation systems with a hydraulic
model to create an automated and interactive flood inundation mapping
application using Geographic Information Systems technology.
Hydraulic models created in HEC-RAS were used to develop an atlas of inundation
maps to query using a customized interface in ArcGIS. Multiple discharge profiles
for flooding events were established and mapped on the elevation model. The
functionality of the FWRS is based on river stages at stream gages located along
the river system. A known or predicted stage at one or more of the gage
locations is used to display the appropriate flood inundation depth grid. The
impact to infrastructure may then be determined using the flood extent and
underlying base data, while estimated damages to structures and contents may
be computed from the flood depths.
The flood inundation mapping, in
conjunction with the variety of base data that can be displayed concurrently,
allows managers to identify potentially hazardous areas and prepare and execute
flood response measures to mitigate the loss of life and structural damages.
Timely estimates of the severity of flooding will better equip emergency
management officials to identify those at risk and plan for evacuations
accordingly. It will also allow affected property owners the opportunity to
minimize potential damages. In addition, preliminary damage estimates may be
furnished to FEMA in advance or during a high water event so that disaster relief
may be expedited.
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AUTHORS
Cameron Ackerman, P.E.
Hydraulic Engineer
Hydrologic Engineering Center
Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
609 Second Street
Davis, CA 95616
Phone: (530) 756-1104
E-mail: cameron.t.ackerman@usace.army.mil
Cameron Ackerman has been working at the Hydrologic Engineering Center since
1996 developing tools and methodologies to assist engineers with hydraulic
analysis. As a member of the HEC-RAS team, he specializes in the application of
GIS technology to river hydraulics. He has extensive experience in river
hydraulics studies, dam break analysis, surface water hydrology, flood damage
analysis, and developing GIS-based flood warning and response systems. His
experience is highlighted by his national and international participation on the
Independent Performance Evaluation Team performing hydraulic modeling for
Hurricane Katrina, providing GIS facilitation for the Civil Military Emergency
Preparedness program (Latvia exercise), and developing guidance for the Dam
Safety Portfolio Risk Assessment team. Mr. Ackerman is a registered Professional
Engineer in the state of California.
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