Flood Vulnerability Mapping and Risk Assessment Using Hydraulic Modeling and GIS in Tamanrasset Valley Watershed, Algeria

The paper is focused on the integration of the US Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) models, particularly the HEC-RAS (River Analysis System) 1D hydraulic model, into a decision support system for predicting the effects of floods. The study was conducted in the Tamanrasset Valley watershed in Algeria, where the HEC-RAS model was used to calculate water flow profiles for various flood events that occurred downstream. The objective of the study was to generate flood maps for extreme river flood events in the area, which could help assessing the risk of flood vulnerability in the area study. The process involved using the HEC-RAS 1D model to simulate the water flow in the river, taking into account the various flow and boundary conditions. The results of the simulation were then exported and analyzed in GIS-based software, HEC-GeoRAS, to prepare the flood inundation maps. The flood maps were based on the water level at each cross-section, which was calculated using the water surface profiles generated by HEC-RAS. The study aimed to identify flood zones using a combination of HEC-GeoRAS and GIS. The HEC-GeoRAS extension was utilized in a GIS environment to determine flood zones associated with 10-year, 20-year, 50-year, and 100-year return periods. The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the integration of GIS and HEC-RAS and demonstrated the performance of the model. Based on these findings, the study recommends the application of this model in planning and management programs for both residential and agricultural areas, to ensure appropriate measures are taken for future flood defense.