Flash floods and their effects on the development in Al-Duqm area, Sultanate of Oman

Youssef Shawky Youssef Sherief*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

Flash floods in hot deserts are characterized by high velocity and low duration with a sharp discharge peak (Ashour, M, 2002). Although most of Oman lies within the dry belt; it experiences some torrential rainfall, which causes floods in main valleys. Large sediment loads may be carried by floods threatening settlements in the wadis, people who are living there. Al-Duqm area is considered as an economic development area in Oman but sometimes affected by torrential floods. These wadi channels may pose a potential flood risk for the development, particularly those on flatter land. The extreme spottiness of rare heavy rainfall is well known to people within the area, precludes any efficient forecasting. A big problem inherent in the opening up of the study area to modern development is one of perception. The impacts of flash floods have become much more serious, causing many of socioeconomic problems such as: loss of human life, loss of livestock, and damage of infrastructure. The aim of this article is determination the areas which could be threatened by flash floods, to give an understanding of the causal factors to mitigate the flood hazard on the infrastructure of Al-Duqm area. GIS and remote sensing techniques are used to extract wadi networks, basins area and spatial analysis of the study area to determine the area under varying flood conditions. The results of morphometric parameters and flood data indicate that the study area need construction some protection dams which could be proposed at the upstream of some major wadis, such as Wadi Jurf and Nafun, whereas the reservoir or dam shall serve as an attenuation reservoir which delays the peak flow.

Original languageEnglish
Pages637-640
Number of pages4
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Event5th International Disaster and Risk Conference: Integrative Risk Management - The Role of Science, Technology and Practice, IDRC Davos 2014 - Davos, Switzerland
Duration: Aug 24 2014Aug 28 2014

Other

Other5th International Disaster and Risk Conference: Integrative Risk Management - The Role of Science, Technology and Practice, IDRC Davos 2014
Country/TerritorySwitzerland
CityDavos
Period8/24/148/28/14

Keywords

  • Arid land
  • Dams
  • Flash flood
  • Hazard mitigation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Flash floods and their effects on the development in Al-Duqm area, Sultanate of Oman'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this