Dynamic routing modeling for flash flood forecast in river system

A real-time flood-forecasting method coupled with the one-dimensional unsteady flow model was developed for the Danshuei River system in northern Taiwan. Based on the flow at current time, the flow at new time is calculated to provide the water stage forecasting during typhoons. Data, from two typhoons in 2000: Bilis and Nari, were used to validate and evaluate the model capability. First, the developed model was applied to validate and evaluate with and without discharge corrections at the Hsin-Hai Bridge in Tahan Stream, Chung-Cheng Bridge in Hsintien Stream, and Sir-Ho Bridge in the Keelung River. The results indicate that the calculated water stage profiles approach the observed data. Moreover, the water stage forecasting hydrograph with discharge correction is close to the observed water stage hydrograph and yields a better prediction than that without discharge correction. The model was then used to quantify the difference in prediction between different methods of real-time water stage correction. The model results reveal that water stages using the 1–6 h forecast with real-time stage correction exhibits the best lead times. The accuracy for 1–3 h lead time is higher than that for 4–6 h lead time, suggesting that the flash flood forecast in the river system is reasonably accurate for 1–3 h lead time only. The method developed is effective for flash flood forecasting and can be adopted for flood forecasting in complicated river systems.