16 Flood Forecasting and Control
375
16.5 Future Perspectives
It is the idea of this chapter to show how remote sensing data may be used for
flood forecasting and control. The main emphasis was on the use of groundbased
weather radar for real-time flood forecasting on the basis of rainfall-runoff models. This technique can be applied, however, only if adequate radar coverage is
available. At present, in Central and Western Europe an international radar system
(C-band) is set up which will cover more or less the whole area of Western and
Central Europe. This way it will become possible in the near future to use weather
radar as basis of flood forecasts in all Western and Central European countries.
Japan is already completely covered by a radar network at present. Similar developments are presently on the way in North America with the establishment of the
NEXRAD system based on S-band radar.
If the existing radar system does not cover the complete area of interest (e.g. in
Western Europe near the Atlantic Ocean) it is possible to add information from
meteorological satellites (e.g. Meteosat, GOES, GMS) in order to extend the lead
time of a flood forecast. This principle of combination of data from radar measurement and satellite imagery is incorporated in the FRONTIERS system (Sargent, 1987).
In urban drainage systems the tendency goes towards extension of flood management towards a combined management of floods (water quantity) and pollution
loads (water quality).
Future flood management, in urban drainage systems as well as in larger rural
catchments up to macro-scale river systems like the Rhine or Mississippi should
be planned in· such a way, that the construction of flood protection measures
should not be done at a local or regional scale anymore, but rather in form of integrated large-scale systems. This would require consideration of potential optimum
control of such systems already in the planning phase. It should, however, not be
underestimated, that flood control using remote sensing and other devices requires
rather sophisticated logistic structures, which usually are sensitive to power failures and other disturbances in such systems. Furthermore the accuracy of radar
rainfall measurements is often not optimal (see Chap. 6!).
The direct monitoring of floods with the aid of remote sensing is discussed in
Chap. 10.
References
Bellman R. (1957) Dynamic Programming, Princeton University Press, New Jersey
Klatt P. and Schultz G.A. (1985) Flood Forecasting on the Basis of Radar Rainfall Measurement
and Rainfall Forecasting, in B.E. Goodison (ed.) Hydrological Applications to Remote Sensing and Remote Data Transmission, lAHS publication No. 145, pp 307-315
Miinchner Riickversicherung (1997) Uberschwemmung und Versicherung. Order-Nr. 2425-v-d
Sargent G.P. (1987) The FRONTIERS-Project in V. Collinge and C. Kirby (eds.) Weather Radar
and Flood Forecasting, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester
Schilling W. (1990) Operationelle Siedlungsentwasserung, Oldenbourg-Verlag, Miinchen
375
16.5 Future Perspectives
It is the idea of this chapter to show how remote sensing data may be used for
flood forecasting and control. The main emphasis was on the use of groundbased
weather radar for real-time flood forecasting on the basis of rainfall-runoff models. This technique can be applied, however, only if adequate radar coverage is
available. At present, in Central and Western Europe an international radar system
(C-band) is set up which will cover more or less the whole area of Western and
Central Europe. This way it will become possible in the near future to use weather
radar as basis of flood forecasts in all Western and Central European countries.
Japan is already completely covered by a radar network at present. Similar developments are presently on the way in North America with the establishment of the
NEXRAD system based on S-band radar.
If the existing radar system does not cover the complete area of interest (e.g. in
Western Europe near the Atlantic Ocean) it is possible to add information from
meteorological satellites (e.g. Meteosat, GOES, GMS) in order to extend the lead
time of a flood forecast. This principle of combination of data from radar measurement and satellite imagery is incorporated in the FRONTIERS system (Sargent, 1987).
In urban drainage systems the tendency goes towards extension of flood management towards a combined management of floods (water quantity) and pollution
loads (water quality).
Future flood management, in urban drainage systems as well as in larger rural
catchments up to macro-scale river systems like the Rhine or Mississippi should
be planned in· such a way, that the construction of flood protection measures
should not be done at a local or regional scale anymore, but rather in form of integrated large-scale systems. This would require consideration of potential optimum
control of such systems already in the planning phase. It should, however, not be
underestimated, that flood control using remote sensing and other devices requires
rather sophisticated logistic structures, which usually are sensitive to power failures and other disturbances in such systems. Furthermore the accuracy of radar
rainfall measurements is often not optimal (see Chap. 6!).
The direct monitoring of floods with the aid of remote sensing is discussed in
Chap. 10.
References
Bellman R. (1957) Dynamic Programming, Princeton University Press, New Jersey
Klatt P. and Schultz G.A. (1985) Flood Forecasting on the Basis of Radar Rainfall Measurement
and Rainfall Forecasting, in B.E. Goodison (ed.) Hydrological Applications to Remote Sensing and Remote Data Transmission, lAHS publication No. 145, pp 307-315
Miinchner Riickversicherung (1997) Uberschwemmung und Versicherung. Order-Nr. 2425-v-d
Sargent G.P. (1987) The FRONTIERS-Project in V. Collinge and C. Kirby (eds.) Weather Radar
and Flood Forecasting, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester
Schilling W. (1990) Operationelle Siedlungsentwasserung, Oldenbourg-Verlag, Miinchen