CCHE2D-Flood and Embankment Breach Models
Catastrophic floods can cause loss of many lives and tremendous property damage. In addition, floods will also cause failures of infrastructures and environmental degradation via sediment/soil erosion and water pollution. Floods due to instant dam failures and levee embankment breaching are particularly detrimental because they may occur quickly. CCHE2D-Flood and CCHE2D-Breach models are developed to simulate and predict dam-break flood and embankment breaching process.
In 2005, the levee break incident at the 17th Street Canal, New Orleans, LA, during the Hurricane Katrina, resulted about 1500 fatalities. The clip shows the simulated levee break flood entering the residential neighborhood near the 17th Street Canal.
CCHE2D Flood has been applied to study the Mid-west flood in 2008 in the Mississippi River. The complex cascade breaching can be assessed by simulating flood wave propagation and levee breachings. The comparison of simulated flood propagation and inundation in 7 days of the Midwest flood 2008 with the observed from satellite.
Embankment breaching is a process related to the flow behind the dam or levee and the soil property of these infrastructures. CCHE2D-Breach is a module for simulating embankment breach caused by over-topping flood. Realistic soil properties are used to validate the model. The data and image were from the USDA-ARS, PA, Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit.
