School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering

Flood Modelling


Forecasting flood extent in real-time

Professor Qiuhua Liang and Dr Xilin Xia work on the modelling of natural hazards' dynamics and the impact of these processes on society.

Present work is focussed on the full natural hazard modelling chain. For example:

  • Modelling earthquake-induced landslides and debris flows;
  • Determining the effect of these flows to dam river channels;
  • Calculating the subsequent flooding risk;
  • Working out how human systems (people, communication networks) will respond to the floods.  

Please contact Professor Qiuhua Liang or Dr Xilin Xia if you are interested in using the model.

Case studies

Carlisle 2005 flood extent predicted by HiPIMS

Their HiPIMS flood model can be used to forecast flood extent in real-time.

Carlisle 2005 flood extent predicted by HiPIMS

River Coquet changes in channel morphology

Sediment erosion and deposition affect the shape of a river channel. Having the capability within the model to handle such processes is important for dynamic simulations of flood risk over extended time periods. A simulation of the River Coquet shows this capability within HiPIMS: The River Coquet (left) and simulations before (middle) and after (right) changes in channel morphology.

River Coquet changes in channel morphology

Modelling the 2011 tsunami in Japan

In addition, the ability of the numerical schemes within the models to handle dramatic changes in water elevation in a computationally correct manner means that these models may be used for coastal flooding and tsunami phenomena.

Modelling the 2011 tsunami in Japan

Further information

Athena Swan Bronze award

Contact us

+44 (0)1509 222637

School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
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Leicestershire
LE11 3TU