Climate change effects are seen and felt by local and regional populations. These effects negatively impact the community due to loss of property and loss of life. The groups most impacted are minority groups due to their location, resources, and integrity of their infrastructure. In earlier research, a city-wide FLO-2D model was applied to assess the local flooding patterns in Tucson, Arizona. Results examined current and climate change meteorologic inputs and using GIS modeling with US Census Bureau data, identified the populations that were impacted by flooding.
In this study, the communities most affected by flooding under current climatic conditions in Tucson were modeled on a local scale. Alternative mitigation strategies examined to determine the best approaches to implement/retrofit in a relatively dense fully developed community. FLO-2D continued to be applied as the modeling framework for these analyses.
To assess flood reduction benefits of the mitigation strategies, Flo-2D water surfaces were computed for a range of return period events for current climatic conditions before and after applying mitigation efforts. To determine if the selected mitigation strategy would sustain the effects in the future, water surfaces were also computed for a range of rainfall events for predicted future climatic conditions. Average first floor elevations were estimated within ARC-GIS and inundation maps were prepared. Homes that were flooded before and after applied mitigation efforts were identified. Relative impacts on the extent of localized flooding is discussed with respect to the flooding extent, the mitigation effort implemented, and the populations affected.
