Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) outline how to manage flood risk in cases of runoff from consolidated areas, either through preventive measures or tools that enable the monitoring and control of emergency situations. The goal is to prevent and minimize potential effects and/or damage that may occur during heavy rain episodes and/or flooding of a watercourse. A Flood Risk Management Plan (FRMP) includes hydraulic analysis and defines the Early Flood Warning System (SAPI).
These efforts primarily focus on the design, implementation, and activation of the necessary Early Flood Warning Systems (SAPI) as a measure of flood risk management and self-protection to prevent potential damage.
Specifically, campsites are required to have this plan, as outlined in the additional provision 19 of Law 5/2017, of March 28, on fiscal, administrative, and financial measures. This law states that, to continue operating campsites located in flood risk areas, it is necessary to prepare a Flood Risk Management Plan and, where appropriate, implement the necessary corrective measures to prevent damage.
At ABM, we develop FRMPs in strict accordance with the technical criteria and recommendations set by the relevant authorities, which are the Catalan Water Agency and Civil Protection. Each and every FRMP complies with current regulations and standards.
Each FRMP first assesses the flood risk of the land where the campsite (or consolidated area) is located, based on hydrological-hydraulic models that simulate flood events and/or episodes of intense rainfall.
Based on the characterization and assessment of the flood risk, a proposal for the SAPI necessary to manage the flood risk and minimize possible effects and/or damage during rainfall episodes is defined.
The Early Flood Warning System (SAPI) is a digital platform that allows for the monitoring and management of emergency situations in case of flooding. This system integrates hydrometeorological data from various information sources. It forecasts possible floods and provides early warnings to ensure a safe and orderly human evacuation.
To design a robust and coherent SAPI, prior hydraulic studies of the watercourse that may flood the area in question are necessary, using hydraulic modeling.
Hydraulic models allow for the analysis and calculation of the flood wave’s speed along the watercourse, thus facilitating the definition of various alert levels associated with thresholds for each hydrometeorological data point received by the system.
The SAPI we implement at ABM uses public data collected by several instruments such as the flow gauging stations of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), rain sensors from the Catalan Meteorological Service (SMC) and the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the meteorological radar of Catalonia (XRAD), meteorological model forecasts (IFS-HRES from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), and official warnings from SMC and AEMET.
These instruments allow for preventive warnings to be issued over the medium term (up to 3 days ahead), short term (2 hours ahead), and very short term (less than 2 hours ahead).
At the same time, the Plan defines possible evacuation routes in case of flooding and establishes evacuation times according to the methodology outlined in the Technical Prevention Note “NTP 436: Estimation of evacuation routes and times.”
Based on the monitored hydrometeorological information and the calculated evacuation time, three alert levels (Pre-alert, Alert, and Emergency) are defined, allowing for the evolving management of emergency situations.
Each of these alert levels is associated with a series of preventive actions and/or measures that are regulated and established in the corresponding Self-Protection Plan for campsites or in the Single Civil Protection Document (DUPROCIM) for urban areas.
The implementation of an Early Flood Warning System allows for the monitoring and forecasting of the behavior of watercourses at flood risk. In the event of an alert, the system facilitates the receipt of warnings and the management of the situation with preventive actions defined in the Flood Risk Management Plan. In emergencies, the SAPI ensures the correct and safe evacuation of campsite users and staff.
At ABM, we are developing the “Flood Risk CÀMPING Cat” web viewer as a consultation tool to identify which campsites are located in flood risk areas and to what extent they are affected by the new Civil Protection technical instruction (ref: PAU_02_v02_21).
This viewer graphically represents the geographic locations of campsites in Catalonia (Catalan Federation of Campsites) with the overlay of flood-prone areas, risk conditions, and different risk situations as outlined by Civil Protection in the new instruction.
The SAPI implemented by ABM is the ARGOS-SITE, a product developed by HYDS. Implementation is carried out jointly with ABM and is customized for each client. The SAPI allows campsite managers to visualize and access all this information in an integrated way through a web application, which facilitates management in emergency situations.
The SAPI proposal is adaptive, and if requested by the client, additional data can be included. Moreover, the SAPI allows for the calibration of alert levels based on the records collected by the system over a specific period.
In certain cases, and according to the client’s requests, new proprietary water level sensors can be installed. This enables more precise real-time monitoring of flood events, providing more detailed information to facility managers, adding an extra layer of specificity to the SAPI.
To date, we have worked and are currently working on Flood Risk Management Plans and Early Flood Warning Systems for over 25 campsites. We have also developed Flood Risk Management Plans for distribution companies, industrial firms, and local governments.
Possibilitats de personalització segons els requisits de cada client.
Possibilitats d’integrar les dades a la web i a la app desenvolupada.
Calibració dels nivells d’avisos.
Monitorització de les avingudes en temps real.
