Quantitative Flood Risk Assessment in Drammenselva River, Norway

Floods are frequent natural hazards, triggering significant negative consequences for the economy every year. Their impact is expected to increase in the near future due to socio-economic development and climate change. In order to minimize the probability and magnitude of expected economic losses and compensation costs, it is essential that flood risk managers are properly informed about potential damage related to hazard features and exposure. In this paper, a flood damage estimation method was proposed for the assessment of flood risk in the Drammen River basin by using a hydraulic model, GIS, and a flood loss estimation model. Hazard variables such as flood depth, flood extent, and flood velocity were computed for the current and future climatic scenarios using the hydraulic model for flood damage assessment. To visualize the flood extent, velocity, depth, and their impact, the results of modelling are illustrated in the form of flood inundation maps produced in GIS. A flood loss estimate included buildings and other infrastructure that are major exposures in flood-prone areas. The flood damage model is formulated based on stage–damage relationships between different flood depths and land-use categories. It calculates the economic loss related to different land-use features based on the simulated flood parameter obtained from the hydraulic model from 100- to 1000-year return periods. For the case study, the results show that the highest proportion of the total damage in each repetition interval (approximately 90–92%) is expected to occur in buildings. In addition, results showed that the effects of climate change will raise the total damage from floods by 20.26%.