EUREKA consortium develops flood prevention software
As floods continue to claim lives in Poland whilst causing severe damage to infrastructure and housing, a EUREKA project is beginning to develop flood prevention software. The three year project, RisUrSim involves municipal water managers, local planners, insurance experts and mathematicians from Norway and Germany and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research along with the Norwegian research council. The project began on 1 April 2000, and will run until 31 July 2003, with a budget or around 1.5 million euro. Although such software could not have avoided the current Polish floods, they could have reduced the impact, project leader Klaus-Peter Nieschulz from the Fraunhofer-Institute für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik (ITWM) told CORDIS News. 'The aim is, in short, for a town to be able to analyse local high water problems, and to give advice on how drainage networks and surfaces could be planned. 'The important thing is the current in the gullies and on the surface. It is supposed to be a planning instrument,' he said. 'One could imagine that, our instrument that is being developed could have reduced the consequences of flooding in some towns if it had been used in the planning and analytical phases,' he added. The project will focus on four problem areas: - The efficiency and overloading of drainage systems, including possible surface flow paths; - The quantity and quality of damage; - Plans for adjoining new housing areas to existing drainage systems and for the renovation of whole sections of the system; - Insurance issues. Solutions will be provided through a simulation model, and by using the most recent mathematical and IT findings together with engineering methods. The project aims to develop a computer supported management system. The geographic information system (GIS) tool will enable planners to analyse and predict water levels as well as the direction of surface water flow on streets, along curbs and in drainage ducts. 'The RisUrSim software is comprised of three modules: ' explained Dr Nieschulz, project leader from the Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik (ITWM). 'Using partial differential equations, we create and approximate simulation of how and where water drains away within towns. The flow and capacity of the drainage network is calculated using shallow water equations. And finally, a 'damage function' estimates the cost involved, according to the level of floodwater in the basement up to the first floor.' Asked whether the EU should consider conducting more research into this area, Dr Nieschulz answered with a resounding 'yes'. He emphasised that projects should be interdisciplinary, involving mathematicians, computer scientists, economists and social scientists The project is particularly timely in the light of the recent floods along the Vistula in Poland, which have already claimed around 25 lives. EU Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen proposed on 31 July that an additional 15 million euro from the EU PHARE accession funds be used towards a flood damage reconstruction programme for Poland. Commissioner Verheugen declared that he also supports the idea of re-programming some ongoing projects towards the affected regions. 'These actions are another sign of solidarity that we show towards the Polish people,' said Commissioner Verheugen. 'We will be exploring with the Government how this support can be provided to the local communities that have been most affected,' he said.