Advanced Flood Forecasting Software Helps Save Lives and Minimize Damages in Egypt

MWH Soft announce the successful implementation of its FloodWorks software in a 3900 mi2 (10,000 km2) pilot area around Nuweiba, Egypt. The system was used to successfully predict flooding in the region in February 2010, the worst flash flooding event in Egypt since 1994. The implementation is the latest expression of MWH Soft’s industry-leading commitment to creating groundbreaking software tools for real time hydraulic and hydrologic modeling.

Nuweiba, on the southeastern portion of the Sinai Peninsula, is located on a floodplain sandwiched between the Gulf of Aquaba and the Sinai Mountains. Although the peninsula suffers from frequent water shortages, it is subject to flash floods that result in loss of life, hamper regional development, and greatly contribute to soil erosion and pollution. The February 2010 flooding resulted in significant damage and seven deaths. In the pilot area running MWH Soft FloodWorks, no casualties were reported.

FloodWorks is a modular software package for real-time simulation and forecasting of extreme hydrological and hydraulic conditions within river basins, drainage systems and coastal zones. Linking real-time hydrological and meteorological time-series data sources with detailed and accurate hydraulic models, it forecasts water level, flood depth and sea state for the hours or days ahead. Designed for operational use in the control room, FloodWorks is particularly suited to real time flood forecasting, warning and management of river catchments and coastal areas. Critical to the program is its ability to aggregate multiple sources of dynamic input data and automatically validate them in real time. This capability, combined with the flexibility to work with InfoWorks RS, InfoWorks CS, InfoWorks ICM, InfoSWMM, H2OMAP SWMM, and other non-MWH Soft hydrologic and hydraulic simulation models, makes FloodWorks both easy to implement and highly accurate.

By enabling managers and engineers to carry out fast, accurate simulation of the future behavior of river and channel systems, FloodWorks supports the mobilization of emergency responses and the issuance of public flood warnings. It can also be used to support reservoir and dam operations, predict low flow episodes, and generate real-time water quality predictions and warnings.