Journal article
Flood mitigation data analytics and decision support framework: Iowa Middle Cedar Watershed case study
The Science of the total environment, Vol.814, 152768
03/25/2022
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152768
PMID: 34990656
Abstract
Flooding is one of the most frequent natural disasters, causing billions of dollars in damage and threatening vulnerable communities worldwide. Although the impact of flooding can never be diminished, minimizing future losses is possible by taking structural or non-structural mitigation actions. Mitigation applications are often costly practices. However, they can be more feasible for long-term planning and protection. On the other hand, selecting a feasible option requires a comprehensive analysis of potential risk and damages and comparing the costs and benefits of different mitigation types. This paper presents a web-based decision support framework called Mitigation and Damage Assessment System (MiDAS) that analyzes flood risk impacts and mitigation strategies at the community and property-level with the goal of informing communities on the consequences of flooding and mitigation alternatives and encouraging them to participate in the community rating system. The framework utilizes regulatory flood inundation maps, damage functions, property information, scenario-based climate projections, and mitigation inputs and guidelines from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). It will help users select the appropriate flood mitigation measures based on various characteristics (e.g., foundation type, occupancy, square footage) and provide cost estimates for implementing measures. The system also provides a decision tree algorithm for analyzing and representing the mitigation decision by reviewing existing guidelines (e.g., FEMA, USACE). We analyzed the community-level mitigation for three major cities in Eastern Iowa (Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, and Waterloo) and found certain measures (e.g., wet/dry floodproofing) are cost-effective for community-level mitigation. Implementation of mitigation measures can reduce the property's vulnerability and improve the response to a flooding event.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Flood mitigation data analytics and decision support framework: Iowa Middle Cedar Watershed case study
- Creators
- Yazeed Alabbad - University of IowaEnes Yildirim - University of IowaIbrahim Demir - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Science of the total environment, Vol.814, 152768
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152768
- PMID
- 34990656
- NLM abbreviation
- Sci Total Environ
- ISSN
- 0048-9697
- eISSN
- 1879-1026
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 01/03/2022
- Date published
- 03/25/2022
- Academic Unit
- Electrical and Computer Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984210350902771
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