Urban pluvial flooding poses increasing challenges due to climate change and rapid urbanization. The limited availability of information on subsurface drainage infrastructure and of validation data frequently constrain large-scale flood modelling. This study applies a pragmatic modelling framework, using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (HEC-RAS 6.7) within the Rain-on-Grid approach to simulate rainfall-induced flooding in Naples, Italy. The adopted method simplifies subsurface drainage processes while enabling a scalable application across large urban areas. The results identify flood-prone areas within the city and provide insights into pluvial flood modelling in data-scarce urban contexts. Preliminary validation is performed using flood photographs and videos collected from social media.
Pragmatic Modelling of Large-Scale Urban Pluvial Flooding
Giada Varra
;Nathalia Napolano;Renata Della Morte;Luca Cozzolino
2026-01-01
Abstract
Urban pluvial flooding poses increasing challenges due to climate change and rapid urbanization. The limited availability of information on subsurface drainage infrastructure and of validation data frequently constrain large-scale flood modelling. This study applies a pragmatic modelling framework, using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (HEC-RAS 6.7) within the Rain-on-Grid approach to simulate rainfall-induced flooding in Naples, Italy. The adopted method simplifies subsurface drainage processes while enabling a scalable application across large urban areas. The results identify flood-prone areas within the city and provide insights into pluvial flood modelling in data-scarce urban contexts. Preliminary validation is performed using flood photographs and videos collected from social media.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
