Hydrology and earth system sciences · 2015 · 181 citations · 30 references
Natural ResourcesEarth SciencesMeteorologyFlood HydrologyFlood Risk ManagementHydrometeorologyExtreme PrecipitationExtreme WeatherHydrologic AnalysisHydrologic ExtremesPrecipitation ExtremesRainfall-runoff RelationshipsAntecedent Soil MoistureExtreme Flood EventsFlood SeverityHistorical Flood AnalysisHistorical FloodsHydrologic Extreme Event AnalysisPrecipitation Anomaly AnalysisTerm Classification
Abstract. The summer flood of 2013 set a new record for large-scale floods in Germany for at least the last 60 years. In this paper we analyse the key hydro-meteorological factors using extreme value statistics as well as aggregated severity indices. For the long-term classification of the recent flood we draw comparisons to a set of past large-scale flood events in Germany, notably the high-impact summer floods from August 2002 and July 1954. Our analysis shows that the combination of extreme initial wetness at the national scale – caused by a pronounced precipitation anomaly in the month of May 2013 – and strong, but not extraordinary event precipitation were the key drivers for this exceptional flood event. This provides additional insights into the importance of catchment wetness for high return period floods on a large scale. The database compiled and the methodological developments provide a consistent framework for the rapid evaluation of future floods.
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A process typology of regional floods
Ralf Merz, Günter Blöschl · Water Resources Research · 2003 · 544 citations