ABSTRACT
Flood-prediction techniques range from a relatively simple approach using graphical methods to sophisticated procedures requiring high-speed computers. These methods are addressed under four primary headings: prediction of flood frequency, prediction of flow duration, flood routing, and catchment basin modeling. Beyond good planning, flooding may be controlled, to a greater or lesser degree, by man-made civil engineering structures. An estimate of flood frequency may be made using statistical and probability concepts based on the historical record of the stream. Flood-routing studies deal with the impacts of peak flows of relatively short-term duration and are not concerned with the "average," or "steady-state" flows. The origin of a peak flow, or flood wave, is generally a storm event, say a mountain cloudburst, somewhere in the upstream reach of the catchment basin. Predictions of flood frequency and flow duration, traditionally formed the basis for flood-plain planning, and provided input for the design of dams, bridges, and other civil engineering structures on rivers.
