A web-based analytical urban flood damage and loss estimation framework

Abstract

Information and communication technology serves a crucial role in communicating flood risk and consequences to a broad range of stakeholders and facilitating mitigation decisions. While studies extensively utilize flood inundation maps for communicating flood risks, there is a need to integrate a broad spectrum of physical vulnerability parameters into risk estimates at various spatial scales. This research aims to build a publicly accessible web platform to analyze and estimate riverine flood-related damages using HAZUS and HEC-FIA damage functions at community and property spatial scales. This framework will provide loss estimation for properties, business interruption, vehicles, bridges, and lives, as well as debris generation. The analysis is available for two scopes, including community and property. The community extent enables the user to explore socioeconomic flood information in the event of 100- and 500-year flood return periods for several communities in the State of Iowa. In the property scope, the user can generate outcomes for the impacts of "what if" flood scenarios using user-provided data. The framework disseminates flood information without requiring extra software to be installed on the user's local workstation. It offers a guidance tool to help decision-makers with flood management, such as identifying vulnerable areas and investigating mitigation interventions.