Open AccessMapping Flash Flood Severity in the United States
Author(s) -
Manabendra Saharia,
PierreEmmanuel Kirstetter,
Humberto Vergara,
Jonathan J. Gourley,
Yang Hong,
Marine Giroud
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of hydrometeorology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.733
H-Index - 123
eISSN - 1525-755X
pISSN - 1525-7541
DOI - 10.1175/jhm-d-16-0082.1
Subject(s) - flash flood , flooding (psychology) , flood myth , environmental science , natural hazard , hazard , meteorology , variable (mathematics) , climatology , 100 year flood , natural disaster , storm , geography , geology , mathematics , psychology , mathematical analysis , chemistry , archaeology , organic chemistry , psychotherapist
Flash floods, a subset of floods, are a particularly damaging natural hazard worldwide because of their multidisciplinary nature, difficulty in forecasting, and fast onset that limits emergency responses. In this study, a new variable called “flashiness” is introduced as a measure of flood severity. This work utilizes a representative and long archive of flooding events spanning 78 years to map flash flood severity, as quantified by the flashiness variable. Flood severity is then modeled as a function of a large number of geomorphological and climatological variables, which is then used to extend and regionalize the flashiness variable from gauged basins to a high-resolution grid covering the conterminous United States. Six flash flood “hotspots” are identified and additional analysis is presented on the seasonality of flash flooding. The findings from this study are then compared to other related datasets in the United States, including National Weather Service storm reports and a historical flood fatalities database.