Optimal selection of short- and long-term mitigation strategies for flooding hazard

Abstract

Every year, flood hazards cause significant economic losses in different locations worldwide with devastating impacts on the buildings and the physical infrastructure. Therefore, investing in flood mitigation is crucial for communities to protect their physical and socio-economic systems. While there are multiple mitigation options for communities to implement in the floodplain at the building-level, an optimization method is developed to determine the optimal strategy for the buildings to implement for minimizing.

In this research, I propose a mathematical model to study the effects and trade-offs associated with pre-event short-term and long-term mitigation strategies to minimize the expected economic loss associated with flooding hazards in a community. I illustrate the capabilities of the proposed model with a case study on Lumberton, NC, which is a small, socially diverse inland community with around 20,000 buildings. Over the last several decades, Lumberton has been affected by severe flooding events with significant recurring economic loss of more than hundred million dollars. The model uses the cost from a portfolio of mitigation strategies, each representative of a different mitigation level, and the resulting flood-induced monetary losses corresponding to each mitigation strategy/level. Finally, the mathematically optimal building level flood mitigation plan is provided based on available budget level to reduce the total direct economic loss of the community.