Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-130
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-130
06 May 2024
 | 06 May 2024
Status: a revised version of this preprint was accepted for the journal HESS.

Determining the threshold of issuing flash flood warnings based on people’s response process simulation

Ruikang Zhang, Dedi Liu, Lihua Xiong, Jie Chen, Hua Chen, and Jiabo Yin

Abstract. The effectiveness of flash flood warnings depends on the people’s response processes to the warnings. And false warnings and missed events cause the people’s negative responses. It is crucial to find a way to determine the threshold of issuing the warnings that reduces the false warning ratio and the missed event ratio, especially for uncertain flash flood forecasting. However, most studies determine the warning threshold based on the natural processes of flash floods rather than the social processes of warning responses. Therefore, an agent-based model (ABM) was proposed to simulate the people’s response processes to the warnings. And a simulation chain of "rainstorm probability forecasting - decision on issuing warnings - warning response processes" was conducted to determine the warning threshold based on the ABM. Liulin Town in China was selected as a case study to demonstrate the proposed method. The results show that the optimal warning threshold decreases as the forecasting accuracy increases. And as the forecasting variance or the variance of the forecasting variance increases, the optimal warning threshold decreases (increases) for low (high) forecasting accuracy. Adjusting the warning threshold according to the people’s tolerance levels of the failed warnings can improve warning effectiveness, but the prerequisite is to increase the forecasting accuracy and decrease the forecasting variance. The proposed method provides valuable insights into the determination of warning threshold for improving the effectiveness of flash flood warnings.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Ruikang Zhang, Dedi Liu, Lihua Xiong, Jie Chen, Hua Chen, and Jiabo Yin

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on hess-2024-130', Anonymous Referee #1, 09 Jun 2024
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', ruikang zhang, 17 Jun 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on hess-2024-130', Anonymous Referee #2, 25 Jul 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', ruikang zhang, 20 Aug 2024
Ruikang Zhang, Dedi Liu, Lihua Xiong, Jie Chen, Hua Chen, and Jiabo Yin
Ruikang Zhang, Dedi Liu, Lihua Xiong, Jie Chen, Hua Chen, and Jiabo Yin

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Short summary
Flash flood warnings cannot be effective without people’s responses to them. We propose a method to determine the threshold of issuing the warnings based on the people’s response process simulation. The results show that adjusting the warning threshold according to the people’s tolerance levels of the failed warnings can improve warning effectiveness, but the prerequisite is to increase the forecasting accuracy and decrease the forecasting variance.