Flood Forecast

Hydro-climatic change is no longer an abstract or theoretical concept if you have been directly affected by the increase in the duration and intensity of extreme weather. In this new RMB manifesto, two of Canada's most respected water experts explain what is happening to the hydrological cycle by way of the very personal impacts that disastrous flooding had on them, their colleagues, neighbours, friends and family. Detailing events as the rain started to fall and the water began to rise, Kerry Freek provides an extraordinary narrative of the flooding that took place in downtown Toronto in July of 2013, while Robert Sandford provides a minute by minute account of what happened in June of 2013 throughout southern Alberta. The exceptional flooding detailed in this startling new book is nothing compared to what the atmosphere is capable of delivering in the future. Extreme weather events are making it clear that it's time to take climate change even more seriously than previously thought and that citizens, corporations and governments around the world must prepare for what many observers are now calling "the new normal" when it comes to major meteorological events.

Nowadays, the degree and scale of flood hazards has been massively increasing as a result of the changing climate, and large-scale floods jeopardize lives and properties, causing great economic losses, in the inundation-prone areas of the world. Early flood warning systems are promising countermeasures against flood hazards and losses. A collaborative assessment according to multiple disciplines, comprising hydrology, remote sensing, and meteorology, of the magnitude and impacts of flood hazards on inundation areas significantly contributes to model the integrity and precision of flood forecasting. Methodologically oriented countermeasures against flood hazards may involve the forecasting of reservoir inflows, river flows, tropical cyclone tracks, and flooding at different lead times and/or scales. Analyses of impacts, risks, uncertainty, resilience, and scenarios coupled with policy-oriented suggestions will give information for flood hazard mitigation. Emerging advances in computing technologies coupled with big-data mining have boosted data-driven applications, among which Machine Learning technology, with its flexibility and scalability in pattern extraction, has modernized not only scientific thinking but also predictive applications. This book explores recent Machine Learning advances on flood forecast and management in a timely manner and presents interdisciplinary approaches to modelling the complexity of flood hazards-related issues, with contributions to integrative solutions from a local, regional or global perspective.

Flood Forecasting: A Global Perspective describes flood forecast systems and operations as they currently exist at national and regional centers around the globe, focusing on the technical aspects of flood forecast systems. This book includes the details of data flow, what data is used, quality control, the hydrologic and hydraulic models used, and the unique problems of each country or system, such as glacial dam failures, ice jams, sparse data, and ephemeral streams and rivers. Each chapter describes the system, including details about its strengths and weaknesses, and covers lessons learned. This helpful resource facilitates sharing knowledge that will lead to improvements of existing systems and provides a valuable reference to those wishing to develop new forecast systems by drawing on best practices. Covers global systems allowing readers to see a worldwide perspective with different approaches used by existing flood forecast systems Provides historical coverage allowing readers to understand why forecast systems have developed as they have and to see how specific systems have dealt with common problems encountered Presents a vision of what appears to be the future of hydrologic forecasting and difficulties facing hydrologic forecasting Provides a helpful resource to facilitate improvements to existing systems based on a best practices approach

The nation's network of more than 130 Next Generation Radars (NEXRADs) is used to detect wind and precipitation to help National Weather Service forecasters monitor and predict flash floods and other storms. This book assesses the performance of the Sulphur Mountain NEXRAD in Southern California, which has been scrutinized for its ability to detect precipitation in the atmosphere below 6000 feet. The book finds that the Sulphur Mountain NEXRAD provides crucial coverage of the lower atmosphere and is appropriately situated to assist the Los Angeles-Oxnard National Weather Service Forecast Office in successfully forecasting and warning of flash floods. The book concludes that, in general, NEXRAD technology is effective in mountainous terrain but can be improved.