Evaluating Pipe Burst Flooding Impacts in Urban Environments Using a Hazard-Vulnerability-Risk Approach

In this paper, a hazard-vulnerability-risk approach is implemented to assess the impacts of water main break flooding events in an urban setting. The hazard component is evaluated through a combination of estimated burst likelihoods for each water distribution pipe and a two-dimensional flooding model for the city’s overland area. Vulnerability is assessed using the damage curves available in the literature for overland flooding. The output of risk is computed in the form of expected annual losses. The application of the proposed approach and the implemented simulation tools are illustrated through a real-life case study at an undisclosed location.