Regional Frequency Flood Estimation

The importance of flood estimation cannot be over-emphasis because of its impact on the environment, society and economy of any state. Millions of dollars are budgeted yearly to mediate and cushion the effect of flooding it floods prone areas. Flood events cannot be eliminated because it is a naturally occurring response of nature most times due to human activities. However, the best approach to mitigating its effect on lives and properties is to be prepared for the event. Through gathering the latest and constantly updated data, residents of those areas and their respective governments can plan better before a flood occurs.

Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) is a way of predicting the flood pattern. It helps hydrologists design control mechanisms for adverse flood events by collecting periodic hydrologic data. Some of the parameter for estimating a region’s AEP include the rate of streamflow, average annual streamflow and so on. These parameters are recorded periodically; however, the accuracy depends on how much data can be collected. The more available information to hydrologists will ensure better prediction and estimation of flood events. This technique is commonly referred to as a Regional Flood Frequency Estimation (RFFE).

The RFFE technique, which was invented by Khaled Haddad (PhD) and Ataur Rahman (PhD), consists of a collection of hydrological data from 853 gauged catchment areas across regions and zones in Australia. (Olaleye, Pummell, & Tuan, 2019)

The above figure is the RFFE result of the Deep River at Ted’s pool in WA. This 2016 model is the most recent data and is gotten from the Australian Rainfall and Runoff website by inputting the selected catchment outlet latitude and longitude, the centroid latitude and longitude, and catchment area respectively.