Washington Water Science Center
Hydrologic Hazards
The WAWSC works with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a range of hydrologic hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience. Real-time flood information in combination with flood inundation mapping is used by emergency management agencies to provide forecasts and warnings to mitigate near-term flood risk. The probabilistic analysis of historic flood information is used to mitigate longer-term risk by FEMA though their flood insurance program, and by planners and engineers through the proper design of bridges, culverts, levees, and stormwater facilities. Real-time water supply information is used by water-resource managers to formally declare drought in Washington State, while post-declaration monitoring and assessment provides an understanding of the effects of drought response activities on short- and long-term water availability. Acute sedimentation information is used by river management agencies to plan for and mitigate changes in flood-conveyance and increased flood risk.
Browse Hydrologic Hazards science related to:
SR 530 Slide
In the immediate aftermath of the SR530 Landslide, the USGS supported first responders and decision-makers as a key member of the collaborative effort to monitor the stability of the landslide deposit and the associated impoundment of the North Fork Stillaguamish River during rescue operations. With the initial disaster response now over, longer-term questions have arisen regarding the...
Raging River Temperature
The Issue: Large, in-channel wood that helps to create and maintain healthy aquatic habitat in rivers throughout the Pacific Northwest was removed from many rivers in the past. In 2009, King County put wood back into the river to restore the Raging River watershed. To guide the county's restoration of the Raging River watershed, managers need to know the effect of restoration...
Pasco Groundwater Storage
The Issue: Since 1952 water diverted from the Columbia River has been used to irrigate parts of the Pasco basin in eastern Washington. As a result of the surface-water irrigation, groundwater levels generally have risen in the area. The increases in groundwater fluxes and groundwater in storage have created a need to better understand the flow system before and after the start...
FEMA High Water Marks - Western Washington Flood, January 2009
The Issue: Significant flooding occurred throughout western Washington on January 7 and 8, 2009. As part of its Hazard Mitigation effort, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region X needs documentation on the extent of flooding for verifying Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) and corresponding Flood Insurance Studies (FIS) that have been...
FEMA Technical Support
9722-DRE00 - FEMA Technical Support, Pre-Declaration, January 2009 Floods - Completed FY2009
A wide plume of warm moist air streaming in from west of Hawaii caused widespread rainfall throughout western Washington in early January 2009. National Weather Service flood stages were exceeded in many different basins, most of which drain from the west side of the Cascade Range. Flows at four...
Puget Hazards
Nationally, the USGS monitors and assesses geologic and hydrologic natural hazards. In the Puget Sound Basin, common hazards that also can cause damage include earthquakes and floods. Other hazards in the region that cause less damage or happen less frequently include landslides, debris flows, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.
Although much is known about these natural hazards,...
Honduras Flood Mapping
Honduras is currently (2001) rebuilding its housing and infrastructure that was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. To plan responsibly and minimize damage during future floods, the Honduran government needs reliable maps of the areas and depth of inundation by the 50-year flood, the design flood chosen for this project. A systematic method for defining areas and depths of inundation is needed that...
Puyallup Flood Alert
The Puyallup River Basin lies mostly within Pierce County, Washington, and contains 972 square miles of land ranging in elevation from zero at its mouth in Puget Sound to 14,408 feet at the top of Mount Rainier. The cities of Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, and Orting are some of the population centers located in the basin.
To protect lives and property in the basin, Pierce County needs...