417 - Urban Flood Modeling in Response to Extreme Rainfall Events

The city of Baltimore, located on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay is currently faced with a growing threat from pluvial flooding. This type of flooding arises due to a combination of several factors. These are increased urbanization, changes in climate patterns, aging drainage infrastructure, and clogged drains. Also, vulnerable communities, often located in low-lying areas, bear greater effects from these events, resulting in displacement, property damage, and heightened health risks. This study focuses on Cherry Hill, a vibrant community located along the southern shores of Baltimore City. This community is faced with a growing threat of pluvial flooding, posing significant risks to its residents, and the socio-economic well-being of the people. The study will use CityCAT, a hydrodynamic flood model used in simulating pluvial flooding to provide assessments of building-level exposure to flood hazards. The results of the study will provide insights into flood depths and major flow paths along the main streets of Cherry Hill resulting in localized flooding resulting from different storm magnitudes. The results will be validated with real storm events that hit the community. This will be achieved based on a detailed analysis of extreme rainfall events combined with a high-resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The study is to aid in providing sustainable solutions to minimize the issue of pluvial flooding faced in the community.