Japan-Egypt Hydro Network: Science and Technology Collaborative Research for Flash Flood Management

Abstract

The present paper outlines the development of a shared hydraulic and hydrology-based network between Kyoto University and three institutional research units in Egypt that seeks to bridge the gap in research, education and practice. This network base was developed the contextualized problems facing the water resources sector in Egypt. Although Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, suffers from severe water shortages, flash floods are responsible for the loss of lives and other problems. One of the JE-HydroNet (Japan-Egypt Hydro Network) outcomes is to forecast flash floods and to propose mitigation strategies in order to reduce the threat of flash floods and water harvesting. An integration of remote sensing data and a distributed Hydrological model so-called Hydro-BEAM (Hydrological River Basin Environmental AssessmentModel) has been proposed for flash flood simulation at Wadi-El-Arish, Sinai. Simulation has been successfully carried out to flash flood event that hit Egypt in January, 2010. Simulation results present remarkable characteristics such as the short time to maximum peak, short flow duration, and severe damage resulting in difficulty in evacuating people from the vulnerable regions. The methodology developed to forecast flash floods considering mitigation strategies which can be applied effectively at different arid regions.