Integration of accurate 2D inundation modelling, vector land use database and economic damage evaluation

Within the global framework of the climate change, according to most Regional Climate Models the maximum peak discharges in river will increase in importance and frequency. Therefore the people will have to face worst inundation conditions. In order to protect themselves from the increasing flood risk, the communities have to draw up suitable flood protection measures. The selection and the evaluation among the different possible flood mitigation measures requires developing decision-support system (DSS). This system has to take into consideration parameters such as hydraulic, economic, social or environmental. This paper focuses on the integration between two components of the DSS, namely the evaluation of the economic impacts of floods and the hydrodynamic modelling. The hydraulic simulations are conducted by means of WOLF 2D flow modelling system and provide as an output high resolution flood maps detailing the distribution of water depth and flow velocity in the floodplains. The integration is ensured by the use of very accurate geographic databases and an automated procedure which makes the most of geomatic methods. The paper details the application of the integrated assessment procedure for a case study along the river Ourthe located in the Meuse basin (Belgium). Moreover, possibilities of validation of the economic damage evaluation procedure are investigated by comparing computation results with real damage data recorded by the Belgian Disaster Fund after several major flood events (2003, 2002, 1995, and 1993).