Native Earth Consulting

The International Flash Flood Laboratory

Summary
Purpose
Scope
Data
Results
Conclusion
Maps

Started by the James and Marilyn Lovell Center, this project aims at addressing the lack of research surrounding flash floods in an area that is extremely prone to this natural hazard. Its overall goal will be to use our analysis and research in order to reduce fatalities that occur during floods.

"The James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research (JMLC) pays homage to the principle that many minds working together can find imaginative solutions to the challenges facing our fragile planet."
-Pamela S. Showalter, Director

Summary (back to top)

Flooding is a worldwide phenomenon and is one of the most dangerous weather related natural disasters in the world, creating perilous situations for people and damage to property. The implementation of an International Flash Flood Laboratory (IFFL) will play a pivotal role in the field of hazards research. The IFFL will be established to function as a center of learning in order to develop applications and information that will provide site-specific flood data at hazard locations and facilitate the dissemination of this information to the public and throughout the region. More importantly, the work conducted by the IFFL has the potential to reduce the fatalities, injuries, and damage caused by flash flood disasters. Managers and planners will be able to utilize this information and ultimately have the ability to improve emergency response times to flash flood vulnerable areas, as well as design and construct efficient and effective public warning and evacuation procedures. In addition, findings from this research may be implemented into current frameworks of development to allow for safe and sustainable growth in the future, as flash floods have been and will continue to be a constant hazard. There is an explicit need for a better understanding and knowledge about the magnitude, pattern, and circumstances surrounding fatalities caused by floods and in particular, flash floods.

Purpose (back to top)

The purpose of this research is to utilize a geographic information system (GIS) to identify and analyze the spatial distributions of historically-recorded flood and flash flood events resulting in fatalities in Texas. Events will be analyzed at a variety of scales temporally and compared with population growth trends throughout the region in order to establish whether there is a distinct relationship or pattern. Other indicators such as gender, age, and type of incident, along with damages to property and crops, will be also examined. It will determine areas of greatest vulnerability and potential danger.

Scope (back to top)

Texas will serve as the geographical focus of the project. Texas is very prone to flash flood disasters and has recently been experiencing exponential population growth, serving as an ideal region of study. Temporally, data will be utilized and analyzed starting from 1993 through 2007.

Data (back to top)

Essential flood event data and data layers utilized for analysis has been collected from a variety of sources. Flood events resulting in fatalities were collected from the Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database (SHELDUS) for the United States. The primary data source for the events included in SHELDUS is the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Storm Data publications. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative information regarding the flood fatalities has been obtained through the NCDC Storm Events Database. The NCDC supplies a collection of information on natural hazard events that have been consistently monitored since the 1950s. This data is received from the National Weather Service (NWS). However, some data is provided by other sources, such as the media, law enforcement, or other organizations and may not have been verified by the NWS. Therefore, the quality and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The Mapping Website of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) provided data layers for the major rivers, major river basins and terrain in the state of Texas. The county data layer was obtained from Texas Natural Resource Information System (TNRIS).

Results (back to top)

Based on the available data from SHELDUS and NCDC Databases, the final database includes a total of 182 fatalities, occurring in 112 separate events from 1993 to 2007. No fatality reported all of the criteria under study. Nearly all event records included descriptive information about fatality location, such as identifying water crossings and only 18 of the records had fatality location latitude and longitude. The number of flood events nearly doubled in the last two decades. However, frequency of fatality incidents only slightly increased, resulting in a decreased number of deaths per flood event. Property damage is reported most often with 71 of the 112 events reporting a total of over $225 million in damages. Crop damage reported only about $31.7 million in damages as a result of 14 flood events. Most flood fatalities are vehicle related, representing 76.92% or 80 deaths. Mobile home and outside/open area fatality location represented the fewest number of fatalities and accounted for only 2.80%. There is no real significant difference in age. However, males represented 60% of fatalities that reported gender.

The Central Texas region is the most vulnerable area susceptible to flood-related deaths and damage.

Conclusion (back to top)

The use of the SHELDUS and NCDC databases provided for the study and analysis of flood fatality frequency, geographic distribution of fatality location, and the circumstances and associated factors that contributed to flood fatality. The variables that describe those most likely to be at risk are males under the age of 20 and over the age of 60 traveling by automobile in flooded areas. Those most likely at risk are located in areas of higher population growth and elevation changes in the Central Texas region. Texas has the largest road system of any state which possibly contributes to high flood fatality frequency. Another possible explanation for the pattern and frequency of flood fatality incidents is a lack of public awareness of the risks and dangers associated with flash floods in Texas.

For more information about The International Flash Flood Laboratory, visit the James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research. (JMLC)