Numerical simulation of extreme flooding in a built-up area

Two numerical simulations of extreme (flash) flood propagation in an urban area are presented. The simulations are performed to recognize some specific features of flow in a built-up area. As the mathematical model of free surface unsteady water flow the shallow water equations are assumed. In order to solve the equations, a numerical scheme based on finite volume method is applied. For approximation of mass and momentum fluxes the Roe method is used. The calculations are examined against the experimental data. The measured variations of water depth at some control points of flooded area are available due to physical modelling. The experiments of model city flooding events were carried out at the hydraulic laboratory of ENEL-CESI in Milan (Italy) in a framework of EC IMPACT project. The aim of these experiments was to simulate a flood in the area where a building group representing a simplified city configuration was introduced.