The New Hybrid Method for Vulnerability Assessment in Floodplain Area
due to Dam Break
Abstract
Despite all the importance of dams, dam failure, always threatens
downstream areas by both natural and man-made sources and caused great
human and financial losses. Vulnerability analysis is one of the main
assessments to achieve a risk map and help policymakers reduce the
losses and consequences of the failure. Therefore, this study aims to
develop a new integrated hybrid model based on the security
vulnerability assessment (SVA) and hydraulic analysis of flood and
Source-Pathway-Receptor–Consequences (SPRC) approach. For SVA forms,
data were collected by questionnaires survey, and for flood mapping, the
open-source software, HEC-RAS was used. Geographical Information System
(GIS) was applied to a combination of layers based on the SPRC approach.
Five different scenarios were modeled to obtain the flood map due to a
dam break. Then, the output data from the HEC-RAS software were
transferred to the GIS software to be merged with other data achieved
from the survey based on the SVA approach. Finally, the risk map for a
case study was developed by this new hybrid approach. The results of the
modeling showed that the highest vulnerability was achieved by
residential areas and the lowest vulnerability is achieved by
agricultural land due to floods by the dam failure.