International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage Commission Interationale des Irrigation et du Drainage



(8082) Flood warning
1 - Issuing the results of a forecast to the public or public authorities. Advance notice that a flood may occur in the near future at a certain station or in a certain river basin. 2 - The planned public announcements to those in exposed areas concerning incipient, and expected floods, whereby a designated responsible civil authority, having analyzed the hydrologic and meteorologic conditions and determined the potential for and level of imminent flooding, issues warnings to local authorities and to the public according to the expected severity of the flood. Besides alerting those at risk, the dissemination of the flood warnings is carefully planned to activate teams from various responsible public authorities (e.g. public works, police, rescue, hospital, security, disaster relief, etc.) so that resources and responses are mobilized with appropriate advance notice to minimise danger and damage. Flood warnings typically involve increasing degrees of significance e.g. Caution-Alert-Danger-Extreme Danger. Flood warnings may be based on flood forecasting, or, more usually, on analysis of stream flows and precipitation, and on flood routing, which identify the expected timing and location of river levels exceeding flood stage. In populous areas, flood warnings are also promulgated routinely downstream from peaking hydro-electric plants, to announce impending sudden flow increases as units are started. Such warnings are made through public address systems on towers located along the river route as far as routing analyses indicate the necessity.

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