Use of LSPIV assessing urban flash flood vulnerability

PATALANO, ANTOINE; GARCÍA, CARLOS MARCELO; GUILLÉN, NICOLÁS

DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Conferencia; Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods Conference; 2017

The probability of the occurrence of urban flash floods has increased appreciably in recent years. Scientists have published various articles related to the estimation of the vulnerability of people and vehicles in urban areas resulting from flash floods. However, most published works are based on data generated using numerical models and laboratory experiments. This work presents a novel approach that combines the implementation of image velocimetry technique (large-scale particle image velocimetry - LSPIV) using a flash-flood video recorded by a citizen local to the area and the estimation of the vulnerability of people and vehicles to high flow velocities in urban areas. Videos recorded during different urban flash flood events occurred lately in different cities were analyzed. During the analyzed flash flood events, people and vehicles were observed being carried away because of high flow velocities. Various sequences of the recorded flash-flood video were analyzed using LSPIV to characterize the flow velocity field. The analyzed flow conditions validate the existing vulnerability criterion based on the effect of the flash flood and resulting high flow velocities on people and vehicles.