Spatiotemporal review of the torrential flood phenomenon in the Morava river basin

Abstract

Phenomenon of torrential floods as the most destructive and the most frequent natural hazards in Serbia with serious socioeconomic, cultural and environmental consequences deserve special attention. In this paper, data collection strategy and data analysis with the aim of spatiotemporal characterization of the torrential flood phenomenon in the largest national, Morava river basin, are presented. A dataset (derived from the Inventory of torrential floods in Serbia) of 479 registered torrential flood events with over 84 casualties for the period 1926-2013 is presented. Monthly distribution of registered torrential floods indicates that the majority of events with the highest share of death toll occurred in the late spring, from May to the end of June. According to the annual distribution there is a linear increase of torrential flood occurrence in the course of 88 years, but decrease of death toll is found. The greatest number of torrential flood events and casualties is registered in the Južna Morava river basin (watersheds of Nišava, Toplica, Veternica, Jablanica). The results of this work can be of great value in the implementation of the Flood Directive of the European Commission on a river basin level as well as for the future natural hazards information system in Serbia.