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Pluvial, urban flood mechanisms and characteristics – Assessment based on insurance claims

Sörensen, Johanna LU and Mobini, Shifteh LU (2017) In Journal of Hydrology 555. p.51-67
Abstract

Pluvial flooding is a problem in many cities and for city planning purpose the mechanisms behind pluvial flooding are of interest. Previous studies seldom use insurance claim data to analyse city scale characteristics that lead to flooding. In the present study, two long time series (∼20 years) of flood claims from property owners have been collected and analysed in detail to investigate the mechanisms and characteristics leading to urban flooding. The flood claim data come from the municipal water utility company and property owners with insurance that covers property loss from overland flooding, groundwater intrusion through basement walls and flooding from the drainage system. These data are used as a proxy for flood severity for... (More)

Pluvial flooding is a problem in many cities and for city planning purpose the mechanisms behind pluvial flooding are of interest. Previous studies seldom use insurance claim data to analyse city scale characteristics that lead to flooding. In the present study, two long time series (∼20 years) of flood claims from property owners have been collected and analysed in detail to investigate the mechanisms and characteristics leading to urban flooding. The flood claim data come from the municipal water utility company and property owners with insurance that covers property loss from overland flooding, groundwater intrusion through basement walls and flooding from the drainage system. These data are used as a proxy for flood severity for several events in the Swedish city of Malmö. It is discussed which rainfall characteristics give most flooding and why some rainfall events do not lead to severe flooding, how city scale topography and sewerage system type influence spatial distribution of flood claims, and which impact high sea level has on flooding in Malmö. Three severe flood events are described in detail and compared with a number of smaller flood events. It was found that the main mechanisms and characteristics of flood extent and its spatial distribution in Malmö are intensity and spatial distribution of rainfall, distance to the main sewer system as well as overland flow paths, and type of drainage system, while high sea level has little impact on the flood extent. Finally, measures that could be taken to lower the flood risk in Malmö, and other cities with similar characteristics, are discussed.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Extreme precipitation, Flood mechanisms, Insurance claims, Pluvial flooding, Urban flooding
in
Journal of Hydrology
volume
555
pages
17 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000418107600005
  • scopus:85031128662
ISSN
0022-1694
DOI
10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.09.039
project
Just or Unjust - Assessment of rainfall-related flood damage in a Swedish context
Sustainable Urban Flood Management
Urban flooding in a changing climate
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e4f2ba6a-7653-4f3b-8d03-9775846e9de4
date added to LUP
2017-10-25 14:42:41
date last changed
2024-06-10 02:08:02
@article{e4f2ba6a-7653-4f3b-8d03-9775846e9de4,
  abstract     = {{<p>Pluvial flooding is a problem in many cities and for city planning purpose the mechanisms behind pluvial flooding are of interest. Previous studies seldom use insurance claim data to analyse city scale characteristics that lead to flooding. In the present study, two long time series (∼20 years) of flood claims from property owners have been collected and analysed in detail to investigate the mechanisms and characteristics leading to urban flooding. The flood claim data come from the municipal water utility company and property owners with insurance that covers property loss from overland flooding, groundwater intrusion through basement walls and flooding from the drainage system. These data are used as a proxy for flood severity for several events in the Swedish city of Malmö. It is discussed which rainfall characteristics give most flooding and why some rainfall events do not lead to severe flooding, how city scale topography and sewerage system type influence spatial distribution of flood claims, and which impact high sea level has on flooding in Malmö. Three severe flood events are described in detail and compared with a number of smaller flood events. It was found that the main mechanisms and characteristics of flood extent and its spatial distribution in Malmö are intensity and spatial distribution of rainfall, distance to the main sewer system as well as overland flow paths, and type of drainage system, while high sea level has little impact on the flood extent. Finally, measures that could be taken to lower the flood risk in Malmö, and other cities with similar characteristics, are discussed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sörensen, Johanna and Mobini, Shifteh}},
  issn         = {{0022-1694}},
  keywords     = {{Extreme precipitation; Flood mechanisms; Insurance claims; Pluvial flooding; Urban flooding}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  pages        = {{51--67}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Hydrology}},
  title        = {{Pluvial, urban flood mechanisms and characteristics – Assessment based on insurance claims}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.09.039}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.09.039}},
  volume       = {{555}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}