Down the Rabbit Hole with Farshad Lotfiazad
Flooding is one of Australia’s most frequent and costliest natural disasters. Be it heavy rainfall, a cyclone, or a tsunami, flooding is often the inevitable secondary disaster that follows. In the eyes of flood modelling experts like Farshad Lotfiazad, who specialises in the movement of water through landscapes, it’s at times, a necessary evil that just needs better management.
“Rainfall is a vital part of the natural water cycle, supporting rivers, wetlands, lakes and groundwater systems, and sustaining the ecosystems that depend on them. However, when flood risk is not properly understood or managed, excessive rainfall can have devastating social and economic consequences, particularly as weather patterns continue to change,” explains Farshad Lotfiazad, WGA’s Principal Civil Engineer, who is a Flood Modelling and Assessment Specialist with over 25 years of experience. His expertise in water resource engineering extends across the traffic and transport, buildings, energy, water, resources, and defence markets, both in Australia and overseas.
Let’s dive down the rabbit hole…
According to Farshad, any project that changes the landscape, drainage patterns or floodplain should be assessed for its potential flood impacts. In many cases, flood modelling is needed to understand those impacts and inform an appropriate design response.
“Flood modelling typically involves two key disciplines. The first is hydrology, which examines how rainfall becomes runoff and how water moves through a catchment. The second is hydraulics, which focuses on how that water behaves as it flows through rivers, floodplains, channels, culverts, bridges, and drainage networks,” explains Farshad.
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WHY DO WE NEED IT?
Flood modelling supports better planning, safer communities, and more resilient infrastructure.
“Many of Australia’s buildings and infrastructure are located on floodplains. Flood modelling helps ensure they are designed with an appropriate freeboard, providing a safety buffer above the predicted flood level.”
Flood risk management isn’t just limited to buildings. Effective flood modelling safeguards all kinds of infrastructure to remain resilient throughout their full lifecycles. For instance:
Designing for Climate Change
Supported by sophisticated modelling tools, robust Rainfall and Runoff Guidelines and ongoing research, Farshad reckons Australia is quite advanced in flood modelling. Along with these advancements, embedding climate projections in every aspect of engineering help predict flash flooding, urban inundation and riverine flooding.
Did you know?
About 22,000 – 23,000 Australians are displaced or forced to relocate annually due to extreme climate events, mainly severe flooding, according to a University of Queensland study.
“Climate change is a reality, and future rainfall is expected to become more intense, particularly for short-duration urban storms.” – Farshad Lotfiazad
The damage is much worse in some countries in Asia and the Americas, where places like the Philippines are particularly vulnerable, with several million people displaced by flood disasters every year. For infrastructure and habitable areas to be immune to flooding, they need to prepare for more intense weather conditions in the future.
“That means looking beyond reactive fixes and building flood resilience into planning and engineering design from the outset,” shares Farshad.
According to Farshad, effective flood modelling and mitigation consider a wide range of potential outcomes when planning and designing resilient infrastructure and liveable communities, including:
- Detention Systems that capture and control excess stormwater before it causes damage.
- Safe access routes that keep people and emergency services moving during flood events.
- Protected living and working environments that reduce the disruption and long-term losses.
Engineering for uncertainty
As climate change continues to influence weather patterns, extreme rainfall and flood events are becoming more frequent and intense in many regions. In some cases, these events can exceed historical records and challenge traditional design assumptions.
“Flood modelling considers future rainfall projections, storm intensities, sea-level rise, coastal flooding and other long-term scenarios. The challenge is balancing these future uncertainties with the available data, including topography, soil characteristics, runoff behaviour and hydrological assumptions.”
But advances in data and computing are helping to reduce these challenges.
“For a single project, we may simulate hundreds or even thousands of storm scenarios. Advances in computing are allowing us to run faster, more detailed analyses and ultimately deliver better design outcomes.
WGA’s capability to deliver flood modelling expertise, supported by up-to-date guidelines, smart technology, and best practices, has made the engineering and project management consultancy a standout in the industry.
As the climate pressures intensify, Farshad and his team will continue to play a critical role in designing resilient infrastructure for communities.
Is your neighbourhood flood-resilient?
A few checks can make a big difference in protecting your home and community when severe weather hits. Here are some smart tips from Farshad to reduce flood risk in your neighbourhood.
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Get in touch with Farshad.