Flood susceptibility assessment in Kelantan river basin using copula

Abstract

Bivariate frequency analysis of flood variables of different station locations of Kelantan river basin was conducted using copula for the assessment of the geographical distribution of flood risk. Seven univariate distribution functions of flood variables were fitted with flood variables such as peak flow, flood volume, and flood duration to find the best-fitted distributions. The joint dependent structures of flood variables were modeled using Gumbel copula. The results of the study revealed that different variables fit with different distributions. The correlation analysis among variables showed a strong association. Joint distribution functions of peak-flow and volume, peak-flow and duration, and volume and duration revealed that the joint return periods were much higher than univariate return periods of same flood variables. The flood risk analysis based on joint return period of flood variables revealed the highest risk of devastating flood in the downstream. The locations identified as highly susceptible to flood risk by joint distributing of flood variables had experienced most severe floods in recent history, which indicates the effectiveness of the method for the analysis of flood risk. It is expected that this procedure can be helpful for better assessment of flood impacts.