588 - Adapting the Water Evaluation and Planning Model for Analyzing Flash Flooding Impacts in Rural El Salvador

Rural communities in the Central American Dry Corridor are facing rainy seasons punctuated by more extreme rainfall events. Flash floods can lead to loss of life, damaged infrastructure, and altered landscapes and crop loss. A National Science Foundation International Research Experience for Students program funded cohorts of US graduate students to conduct hydrologic modeling in rural El Salvador. The model results potentially explains why small communities are increasingly facing more frequent flash flooding, which primarily is caused by landscape alterations without considering stormwater runoff impacts. The students tested viable scenarios that would divert runoff to lessen the impact on at-risk communities. The model development was challenging for the students because the project work was new for all of them and, like many areas in Latin America, lacked spatial and temporal data needed for the model input. The students also gained experience in collecting qualitative data from community members to assist in building and testing the models. Results from this participatory research benefit project stakeholders in a variety of ways. Nongovernmental organizations can use the results as evidence to funding agencies that investing in small infrastructure interventions may reduce flood risk in their target communities. Governmental agencies, like Civil Protection, can use the results to demonstrate to land owners that rehabilitating natural drainage pathways through their lands upstream of impacted communities benefit the populations that staff their agricultural operations. The municipality can use the results to help advocate for more resources to make modest infrastructure improvements that reduce hazard risks.