Identifying the location and estimating the magnitude of urban pluvial flooding events is essential to assess their impacts, particularly in areas where data are unavailable. The present work focused on developing and exemplifying a tool to evaluate urban pluvial flooding based on open-access information. The tool has three separate submodules: (1) sewer network generation and design; (2) hydrodynamic model development; (3) urban pluvial flood evaluation. Application of the first two modules in two catchments and comparison of these results with real data indicated that the tool was able to generate systems with realistic layouts and hydraulic properties. Hydrodynamic models derived from this data were able to simulate realistic flow dynamics. The third module was evaluated for one of the study cases. The results of this indicated that the current approach could be used to identify flood areas and associated flood depths during different rainfall scenarios. The outcomes of this study could be used in a wide variety of contexts. For example, it could provide information in areas with data scarcity or uncertainty or serve as a tool for prospective planning, design, and decision making.

Urban pluvial floods (UPFs) are a threat that is expected to increase with economic development, climate change, and the proliferation of urban cover worldwide. Methods to assess the spatiotemporal magnitude of UPFS and their impacts are needed to research and explore mitigation measures. This study presents a method for the assessment of UPFs and their impacts by combining a hydrodynamic sewer system model with a GIS-based overland diffusive flow algorithm. The algorithm is implemented in the software GIS-based Agent-based Modeling Architecture (GAMA) along with the depth-damage functions and land use data to estimate financial impacts. The result is a dynamic and interactive model that allows the user to monitor the events in real-time. Functionality is demonstrated in a case study in Dresden, Germany and with ten to 100-year design storms. The majority of flood extents and damages occur in the early stages of the event. Sewer surcharge emerges from few of the manholes, suggesting early action vitally reduces flood risks and interventions at a few hot spots, largely reducing impacts. Flood protection barriers were interactively implemented as a potential response measure in the hot spot areas reducing the damage by up to 90%. The user can compare different parameters in a visually compelling way that can lead to a better understanding of the system and more efficient knowledge transfer.

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