ABSTRACT
A fl ood represents a higher than usual quantity of water conveyed by a hydraulic system (i.e., lakes, reservoirs and watercourses), with or without bank overfl ow. Concerns related to fl oods, in particular the rarest events, are many and go back to
the origins of civilization. Estimating fl ood fl ows is essential both for water resources management (e.g., design of related projects) and for the protection of life and property (i.e., identifi cation of fl ood hazards and implementation of adequate structural and nonstructural fl ood control schemes). Today, in particular due to socio-economic changes in many regions where fl ood hazards exist, fl ood damage can have serious consequences, often generating very high social and fi nancial costs. In Switzerland, for example, the six major fl oods observed between 1987 and 2007 had a fi nancial cost estimated at more than 3 billion Swiss francs. To better control the often devastating and catastrophic effects of fl ooding, engineers must be able to understand and estimate fl ood discharges.
