ABSTRACT
In a warming climate and uncertain future ahead, contemporary cities will be affected by frequent flooding. It is mainly attributed to human intervention and climate change. Cities of developing countries are at a heightened risk of flooding. To mitigate the effects of floods, existing flood management practices (if any) should be re-visited. The design of stormwater management systems (SWMS) is based on so-called intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves. But SWMS are either non-existent or inadequate, and the IDF curves are not updated periodically. Additionally, the spatiotemporal variability of rainfall is not considered while developing these curves.
In this context, our study in this chapter put its efforts primarily into understanding rainfall attributes in a recent period, from 2014 to 2023. The city of Hyderabad served as the testbed. First, our study identified rainfall events, then documented their variability over time. Thereafter, we studied spatial variation of annual accumulated rainfall at a few spatial scales. This was followed by a computation of rainfall intensities for various return periods. Finally, we offer some suggestions regarding low-impact development practices. Results indicate a significant rainfall variability and a rise in rainfall events post-2019. Overall, our study may contribute significantly to an understanding of how the changing climate may lead to a rise in flood events and how mitigating its effect requires sustainable and cost-effective solutions.
