Probabilistic mapping and sensitivity assessment of dam-break flood hazard

Quantitative assessment of dam-break flood hazard is central in dam emergency action planning and is typically performed deterministically. In structural failure of concrete or masonry dams the collapse is assumed to be total and instantaneous, with the reservoir level at the spillway crest level. A probabilistic method is here proposed based on a set of dam-break scenarios characterized by different breach widths and reservoir levels in order to provide an appraisal of uncertainties in flood hazard indicators. Each scenario is attributed a weight, defined as a conditional probability given a dam-break event. Probabilistic flood hazard and inundation maps are produced for the case study of the hypothetical collapse of the Mignano dam (River Arda, northern Italy), and a sampling-based global sensitivity analysis is performed. Dam-break flooding was simulated using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model on a high-resolution mesh. The probabilistic maps inherently provide quantitative information on the uncertainty of dam-break flood hazard.