A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005

The aim of this study is flood simulation for the rise in sea level using distributed hydrologic model and to analyze the economic impact. The study focuses on understanding the flooding characteristics under projected climate and economic scenarios The integrated mathematical model is the combination of a surface and river flow model (SRFM) for flood simulation and the flood loss estimation. The model SRFM simulates the propagation of water and the estimated loss is formulated based on population and the distribution of household. The study area includes the entire south region of Bangladesh, with an area of 18,354 sq. km, and is bounded by the Ganges river in the north, Gorai Modhumati rivers in the west, Dakatia river in the east and the Bay of Bengal in the south. The characteristics of floods under the sea level rise condition due to climate change and the economic impacts are described in this study. Submerged areas under different depth of floods are shown for Barisal and Patuakhali districts. Duration of flooding can be computed using simulated water level hydrograph at each computational grid point. Flood impact assessment depends on many hydraulic parameters of flood. In the present study, maximum flood depth is computed using the hydrodynamic model of flood routing while flood duration is estimated from the time series water level data for individual grid. To improve the results of the present study, latest development of landuse in flood plain should be considered during the time of model setup