Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (Jul 2011)

Rainfall threshold definition using an entropy decision approach and radar data

  • V. Montesarchio,
  • E. Ridolfi,
  • F. Russo,
  • F. Napolitano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-11-2061-2011
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 7
pp. 2061 – 2074

Abstract

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Flash flood events are floods characterised by a very rapid response of basins to storms, often resulting in loss of life and property damage. Due to the specific space-time scale of this type of flood, the lead time available for triggering civil protection measures is typically short. Rainfall threshold values specify the amount of precipitation for a given duration that generates a critical discharge in a given river cross section. If the threshold values are exceeded, it can produce a critical situation in river sites exposed to alluvial risk. It is therefore possible to directly compare the observed or forecasted precipitation with critical reference values, without running online real-time forecasting systems. The focus of this study is the Mignone River basin, located in Central Italy. The critical rainfall threshold values are evaluated by minimising a utility function based on the informative entropy concept and by using a simulation approach based on radar data. The study concludes with a system performance analysis, in terms of correctly issued warnings, false alarms and missed alarms.