Flood hazard categories
It is necessary to divide the floodplain into flood hazard categories that reflect the flood behaviour across the floodplain. CSIRO (2000) refers to the degree of flood hazard as being a function of:
- the size (magnitude) of flooding;
- depth and velocity (speed of flowing water);
- rate of floodwater rise;
- duration of flooding;
- evacuation problems;
- effective flood access;
- size of population at risk;
- land use;
- flood awareness/readiness;
- effective flood warning time.
CSIRO (2000) suggests four degrees of hazard; low, medium, high and extreme.
The categorisation of the floodplain is largely qualitative using the above factors. For example, medium hazard is where adults could wade safely, but children and elderly may have difficulty, evacuation is possible by a sedan, there is ample time for flood warning and evacuation and evacuation routes remain trafficable for at least twice as long for the required evacuation time.
A key factor in the ease of evacuation from an area is the water depth and the velocity along the evacuation route, ie. the stability of pedestrians wading through flood waters or vehicles driving along flooded roads. CSIRO (2000) notes that there are estimation procedures available for stability estimation, but considers that further research is required across a broader range of conditions and so does not recommend a procedure for hazard categorisation on this basis.
