Like all natural hazards, flooding is a complex and inherently uncertain phenomenon. Despite advances in developing flood forecasting models and techniques, the uncertainty in forecasts remains unavoidable. This uncertainty needs to be acknowledged, and uncertainty estimation in flood forecasting provides a rational basis for risk-based criteria. This book presents the development and applications of various methods based on probablity and fuzzy set theories for modelling uncertainty in flood forecasting systems. In particular, it presents a methodology for uncertainty assessment using disaggregation of time series inputs in the framework of both the Monte Carlo method and the Fuzzy Extention Principle. It reports an improvement in the First Order Second Moment method, using second degree reconstruction, and derives qualitative scales for the interpretation of qualitative uncertainty. Application is to flood forecasting models for the Klodzko catchment in POland and the Loire River in France. Prospects for the hybrid techniques of uncertainty modelling and probability-possibility transformations are also explored and reported.

About the Author
Shreedhar Maskey was born on 24 December 1966 in Charikot, in the district Dolkha, Nepal. In 1990, he graduated in Civil Engineering from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. Since 1991 he served in the same university as a lecturer until he joined UNESCO-IHE (then IRE-Delft) in 1997 to participate in the Master's Programme in Hydroinformatics. He received the Master of Science degree with distinction in hydro informatics in April 1 999. Since April 1999 he has been at UNESCO-IRE as a PhD research fellow. During this period he also worked for the COWl project (Apr. 1999 - Dec. 1999) and the OS1RIS2 project (Jan. 2000 - Mar. 2003) and assisted in various ways in the Hydroinformatics Master's Programme.

Reviews

"This book is an excellent one. It is directed to the skeptic engineers who still refuse to embrace concept of uncertainty and continue to use deterministic approaches. This is due to the fact that books dealing with uncertainty seldom include any practical application. Therefore, many engineers assume that uncertainty modeling, be it of probabilistic, fuzzy, or convex nature, are reserved for research only. This book is a welcome harbinger which paves the way to systematic uncertainty analysis as an extremely practical problem...."

Dr. Issac Elishakoff, J. M. Rubin Distinguished Professorin Safety, Reliability and Security, Florida Atlantic University writing in Shock and Vibration 13 (2006) 63 IOS Press

Shock and Vibration 13 (2006) 63 63

IOS Press

Book Review

Modeling Uncertainty in Flood Forecasting Systems, by ShreedharMaskey, Taylor and Francis Group plc, London,

UK (ISBN 90-5809-6947)

This book deals with uncertainty in flood forecasting systems. Author bases his approach by observing that "like

all natural hazards flooding is complex and inherently uncertain phenomenon." Author applies probability theory

and fuzzy sets based theory; central point is the development of improved first-order second moment method using

a second-order reconstruction of the model function.

The temporal disaggregation method, presented in Chapter 4 (the previous one dealing with genuine randomness,

fuzziness or their hybrid) is utilized in Chapter 5 to flood forecasting model of Klodzko catchment located on the

river Nysa Klodzka in Poland; Chapter 6 utilizes the same model for Loire River in France. Author recommends

risk based flood forecasting and warning systems.

This book is an excellent one. It is directed to the skeptic engineers who still refuse to embrace concept of

uncertainty and continue to use deterministic approaches. This is due to the fact that books dealing with uncertainty

seldom include any practical application. Therefore, many engineers assume that uncertainty modeling, be it of

probabilistic, fuzzy, or convex nature, are reserved for research only. This book is a welcome harbinger which paves

the way to systematic uncertainty analysis as an extremely practical problem.

Dr. Issac Elishakoff

J. M. Rubin Distinguished Professor

in Safety, Reliability and Security

College of Engineering

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL 33431-2825, USA

E-mail: elishako@fau.edu

ISSN 1070-9622/06/$17.00 (c) 2006 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Book Information
ISBN 9789058096944
Author Shreedhar Maskey
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint A A Balkema Publishers
Publisher A A Balkema Publishers
Weight(grams) 317g