The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding

Although flooding can lead to many types of severe consequences, the primary objective of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dam and levee safety programs are to manage risk to the public who rely on those structures to keep them reasonably safe from flooding. Thus, reducing the risk associated...

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Main Authors: Needham Jason, Fields Woodrow, Lehman William
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2016-01-01
Series:E3S Web of Conferences
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20160706003
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author Needham Jason
Fields Woodrow
Lehman William
author_facet Needham Jason
Fields Woodrow
Lehman William
author_sort Needham Jason
collection DOAJ
description Although flooding can lead to many types of severe consequences, the primary objective of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dam and levee safety programs are to manage risk to the public who rely on those structures to keep them reasonably safe from flooding. Thus, reducing the risk associated with loss of life is paramount. USACE employs a scalable approach to estimating loss of life, where the goal is to invest an appropriate amount of resources to answer the question at hand. Given the large number of dams and levees within the USACE portfolio (over 700 dams and 15,000 miles of levees), a “one size fits all” approach does not work. Screening level risk assessments are carried out to initially characterize risk. That initial risk characterization informs prioritization of additional efforts such as interim risk management activities and more detailed risk assessments. More detailed risk assessments inform investment in long-term risk reduction measures, which include analysis and selection of major modification activities and implementation of non-structural measures including emergency management and evacuation planning. This paper describes the USACE scalable approach for estimating loss of life from flood events.
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spelling doaj.art-fded433810bc44db8e8e882489d95ac32022-12-21T20:30:11ZengEDP SciencesE3S Web of Conferences2267-12422016-01-0170600310.1051/e3sconf/20160706003e3sconf_flood2016_06003The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from FloodingNeedham Jason0Fields Woodrow1Lehman William2P.E., USACE Risk Management CenterUSACE Hydrologic Engineering CenterUSACE Hydrologic Engineering CenterAlthough flooding can lead to many types of severe consequences, the primary objective of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dam and levee safety programs are to manage risk to the public who rely on those structures to keep them reasonably safe from flooding. Thus, reducing the risk associated with loss of life is paramount. USACE employs a scalable approach to estimating loss of life, where the goal is to invest an appropriate amount of resources to answer the question at hand. Given the large number of dams and levees within the USACE portfolio (over 700 dams and 15,000 miles of levees), a “one size fits all” approach does not work. Screening level risk assessments are carried out to initially characterize risk. That initial risk characterization informs prioritization of additional efforts such as interim risk management activities and more detailed risk assessments. More detailed risk assessments inform investment in long-term risk reduction measures, which include analysis and selection of major modification activities and implementation of non-structural measures including emergency management and evacuation planning. This paper describes the USACE scalable approach for estimating loss of life from flood events.http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20160706003
spellingShingle Needham Jason
Fields Woodrow
Lehman William
The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding
E3S Web of Conferences
title The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding
title_full The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding
title_fullStr The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding
title_full_unstemmed The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding
title_short The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding
title_sort us army corps of engineers scalable approach to estimating loss of life from flooding
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20160706003
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