HWRESA: Creation of updated Flood Statistics for Saxony via the Coupled Analysis of revised Regionally Relevant Meteorological/Hydrological Data

Background

In Saxony, particularly in the Erzgebirge (the Ore Mountains), small and large scale floods with grave consequences have become ‘regular’ events. Long phases of rainfall bordering on the possible maximum precipitation (PMP) is generally the cause for these disasters. For the evaluation of extreme events, statistically based standard procedures are mostly unspecific and inappropriate for the assessment of design floods.

Solution

An improvement in data density and reliability is imperative to enable more accurate evaluations. An assessment is carried out by analysing the various types of information / data available and is dependent upon their quality, quantity and reliability. Various tried and tested methods are combined and their predictive ability enhanced via the coupling with new scientific developments (e.g. artificial neural networks). This results in an updated data bank for a revised, more reliable regional flood statistic.

Timescale:      2007 - 2010
Financed by:   The Reservoir Administration Headquarters for Saxony