FlaFloM – An Early Warning System For
Flash Floods In Egypt
Author(s)
P. Vanderkimpen, I. Rocabado, J. Cools, M. El-Sammany
& A. Abdelkhalek
Abstract
The Flash Flood Manager project (acronym \“FlaFloM, co-funded by the EU
under the LIFE Third Countries Fund) is aimed at developing an early warning
system for forecasting flash floods in the Wadi Watier catchment, located in the
Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). The system consists of a number of components, which
are automatically activated and linked: a rainfall forecasting model (Weather
Research and Forecast model), a hydrological model (custom-built to reflect arid
region conditions), a hydraulic model (InfoWorks-RS) and a warning module
(FloodWorks). Forecasts have a lead time of up to 48 hours. The system is
currently in an operational testing phase. This paper provides a brief overview of
the early warning system and addresses a number of challenges related to the
development and calibration of the hydraulic model, as well as the definition of
threshold levels in the warning module.
Keywords: flash floods, forecasting, early warning system, emergency system.
1 Introduction
Flash floods frequently occur in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). They often result in
damage to infrastructure, loss of life, erosion and pollution of the coastal
environment. As recently as January 2010, significant flash floods occurred
throughout the area, resulting in the death of at least 5 people.
The US National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office defines a flash
flood as \“A flood caused by heavy or excessive rainfall in a short period of time,
generally less than 6 hours. Flash floods are usually characterized by raging
Keywords
flash floods, forecasting, early warning system, emergency system
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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