Flood protection by embankments in the Brahmani–Baitarani river basin, India: a risk-based approach
M. Marchand, Ruben Dahm, Joost Buurman, S. Sethurathinam, Chris Sprengers
Abstract
Determining optimum flood protection levels is challenging in data-poor environments typical of developing countries. This study develops a risk-modelling approach to calculate current flood risks for a predominantly agricultural area in the Brahmani–Baitarani river basin in India. A combined hydrological–hydraulic model is developed together with a damage model to analyse the economic efficiency of different safety levels of embankments. The results show that more than 90% of the total flood risk would be controlled with embankments giving a protection level of once in 25 years. The study illustrates the feasibility of a relatively basic flood-risk analysis that can be applied at pre-feasibility level in a data-poor environment.