Different types of flood can also have different effects in terms of their impact, damage and cost, both financially and to the people who experience them. Our guide presents a walk through of various flood types, with modelled and real events as case studies.

Fluvial (River) Flooding

Fluvial flooding occurs when rivers burst their banks as a result of sustained or intense rainfall. The image below shows fluvial flood risk for Dublin, created using our Flowroute™ flood modelling software.

Fluvial Flooding Impact: Cornwall

Flowroute™ is used to predict the depth, duration, velocity and extent of flooding and is highly accurate. The images below compare fluvial flood risk modelled for Lostwithiel in Cornwall against aerial photography of an actual flooding event at that location in 2010.

Coastal Flooding

Coastal flooding is caused by extreme tidal conditions including high tides, storm surges and tsunamis. The image below shows the predicted impact of storm surges according to hurricane categories. Again, these images were created using our Flowroute™ flood modelling software.

Pluvial (Surface Water) Flooding

Pluvial flooding occurs when an extremely heavy downpour of rain saturates drainage systems and the excess water cannot be absorbed. The image below, modelled using Flowroute™, highlights pluvial flooding risk in East London.

Pluvial Flooding Impact: The Eden Project

The image below compares a pluvial flood risk analysis modelled by Flowroute™ alongside the actual impact and damage caused to the Eden Project centre in Cornwall.

Reservoir Flooding

Reservoir flooding can occur as a result of dam failure. This type of flooding is rare, however, the image below shows the likely impact of flood in the event of dam failure at Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham, UK.

Useful References:

Local Government Association – Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management
Environment Agency – Sources of Flooding