Articles

Flood hazard assessment of Atrato River in Colombia

Mosquera-Machado, S.; Ahmad, Sajjad

The flood hazard caused by Atrato River in Quibdo´, northwest of Colombia is assessed using statistical modeling techniques (Gumbel and GRADEX), hydraulic modeling with HEC-RAS and the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Three flood hazard maps for return periods of 10, 20 and 50 years are generated. The flood hazard modeling reveals that the flooded zone is more significant out of the left (West) bank than out of the right (East) bank of Atrato River. For the three return periods the maximum depth of water reached by the river and extent of flooding are estimated. Sensitivity analysis on roughness coefficient and peak discharge is performed. For 50 year return period (Q = 3054 m3/s), water depth on the left and right bank of Atrato River is 3.7 m and 3.1 m, respectively. This information is useful in defining the minimum height of flood protection structures such as dikes to protect the area from flooding. The results can be useful for evacuation planning, estimation of damages and post flood recovery efforts.

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Title
Water Resources Management
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-006-9032-4

More About This Work

Academic Units
International Research Institute for Climate and Society
Published Here
March 13, 2024

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