Volume 3, Issue 1 — Year 2026 — Article e100051

ISSN (Online): 3115-8129 Biannually

Urban Flood Management and Zoning under Different Return Periods using the 2D HEC-RAS Simulation

Article Type: Research
Pages: e100051
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/CGEL.3.1.e100051
Crossmark
Open Access
Authors
Affiliations
  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, Tehran 1477893855, Iran
  2. Department of Civil and Construction Management, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul 34300, Türkiye
  3. Department of Civil and Construction Management, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul 34300, Türkiye
  4. Department of Civil and Construction Management, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul 34300, Türkiye
Corresponding author
Email: azimi.nader_tr@gmail.com
Received: 11 January 2026 / Accepted: 20 March 2026 / Published: 25 May 2026
Abstract

Among natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, and droughts are of particular importance due to the financial and human losses they cause. In fact, natural disasters result from the interaction between human activities and random natural phenomena. This point is especially significant in the case of floods due to the relative concentration of human economic activities in floodplains. Given that floods cause considerable financial and human losses around the world every year, the importance of flood control and damage mitigation becomes evident. Furthermore, identifying inundated land uses is essential for effective urban management and planning strategies. In this study, the HEC-RAS hydraulic simulation model was used to simulate floods with different return periods, predict flow behavior, and perform flood zoning. The GIS (Geographic Information System) was employed as a tool to link flood modeling outputs and calculate the floodplain area for the inundated zones. The case study focuses on the urban flood of the Western Flood Diversion Channel located in Tehran, Iran. Using the 2D HEC-RAS model, floodplains corresponding to various return periods were determined. These were then analyzed in GIS using regional digital elevation model layers to derive the flood extent for each return period. The results indicate that with an increase in the flood return period, the channel is unable to convey the incoming flow, leading to a significant expansion of the floodplain and a greater number of land uses being submerged.

Keywords

Flood zoning, 2D Hydraulic simulation, HEC-RAS, ArcGIS

Data availability statement

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. No publicly archived dataset was generated.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Highlights
  • Flood zoning via 2D HEC-RAS and GIS
  • Floodplain expands with return period
  • Supports urban flood risk management
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How to cite
Yazdani, M., Sadegi, S., Arslan, Z., & Azimi, N. (2026). Urban Flood Management and Zoning under Different Return Periods using the 2D HEC-RAS Simulation. Civil and Geoengineering Letters, 3(1), e100051. https://doi.org/10.22034/CGEL.3.1.e100051
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