A review of flash-floods management: From hydrological modeling to crisis management

Abstract

In a context of climate change, flash-floods are expected to increase in frequency. Considering their devastating impacts, it is primordial to safeguard the exposed population and infrastructure. This is the responsibility of crisis managers but they face difficulties due to the rapidity of these events. The focus of this study was to characterize the extent of the link between hydrologists and crisis managers. It also aimed to determine the limiting and the fostering factors to an effective integration of forecasting in crisis management during flash-floods. This was achieved through an extensive and methodological study of available literature in selected platforms. The models encountered were characterized on multiple levels including the physical, geographical and crisis management level. The results revealed a limited link between the two involved parties with limiting factors such as the complexity of the modeling approach, the insufficient projection in the implications of operationality of the models proposed and the financial aspect. On the other hand, acknowledging the threat of flash-floods and conducting cost–benefit-analysis were pinpointed as fostering factors. This study showed to reconsider the forecasting methods employed, particularly, the integration of machine learning, and the needs of end-user in these applications in a crisis management context.