This course focuses on the concepts of disaster risks, hazards, vulnerability, capacity, and application

of scientific knowledge and the solution or practical problems in a physical environment. It is

designed to bridge the gap between theoretical science and daily living.
 LESSON 6:
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL
HAZARDS

Learning Outcomes
 Distinguish and differentiate among and between different hydrometeorological
hazards.
 Recognize signs of impending hydrometeorological hazards
 Determine appropriate measures/interventions before, during, and after
hydrometeorological hazards

INTRODUCTION

Good day! We are now on our sixth module for PM 211 subject. This module
will tackle about the different hydrometeorological hazards. The lessons and
activities in this module will deepen you understanding about the different types
of hydrometeorological hazards, its impending signs, and the proper
precautionary measures for this type of hazards.

So, enjoy and do well in your activities!

ABSTRACTION
Hydrometeorology is the study of the atmospheric and terrestrial phases of the
hydrological cycle with emphasis on the interrelationship between them. It deals
with the transfer of water and energy between land surface and the lower
atmosphere.

Atmosphere Characteristics:

Weather is constantly changing, and it refers to the state of the atmosphere at any given
time and place

Climate, however, is based on observations of weather that have been collected over
many years. Climate helps describe a place or region.

FORMS OF PRECIPITATION:

The type of precipitation that reaches Earth’s surface depends on the temperature profile
in the lower few kilometers of the atmosphere. In meteorology, the term rain means drops
of water that fall from a cloud and have a diameter of at least 0.5 mm. At very low
temperatures (when the moisture content of air is low) light fluffy snow made up of
individual six-sided ice crystals forms.

How is rain measured?

Rainfall is measured using a rain gauge, rain gauge is thought to be one of the oldest
weather instruments. Rain gauges can be as simple as a cylinder that catches rain water.

The height of rain water that collects in the cylinder is the measured amount of
rainfall, usually expressed in millimeters.

Terrestrial phase of the hydrologic cycle

As water returns to the surface of the Earth from precipitation, it doesn’t just stay in one
place, gravity takes it to the ground either as infiltration, or it begins running downhill as
surface runoff.

Most of this moving water will end up in streams or rivers flowing towards the ocean.
Since the Philippines is composed of islands with complex topography and mountainous
regions, certain processes happen while water flows through land.

A watershed is a basin-like landform defined by highpoints and ridgelines that descend

into lower elevations and stream valleys. Water is channeled into soils, groundwater,
creeks and streams making its way to larger rivers and eventually the sea.

The following are the processes that govern terrestrial water flow

1. Interception of precipitation by vegetation cover

Before reaching the land surface, a part of the precipitation may be intercepted by
vegetation and/or other types of surface cover. A portion of intercepted rainfall
evaporates and the other portion may flow down on vegetation stems

2. Storage in land surface depressions

Detention of a part of precipitation on depressions. While most waters flows back to the
ocean, some can flow in streams towards closed lake, or purposely diverted for human
use, and stored there for a time.

3. Infiltration of water into soil

Flow of water through soil surface

4. Evapotranspiration

the sum of all processes by which water moves from the land surface to the
atmosphere via evaporation and transpiration. Evapotranspiration includes water
evaporation into the atmosphere from the soil surface, evaporation from the capillary
fringe of the groundwater table, and evaporation from water bodies on land.
Evapotranspiration also includes transpiration, which is the water movement from the soil
to the atmosphere via plants. Transpiration occurs when plants take up liquid water from
the soil and release water vapor into the air from their leaves.  (USGS)

5. Recharge of groundwater

Natural groundwater recharge occurs as precipitation falls on the land surface,

infiltrates into soils, and moves through pore spaces down to the water table. Natural
recharge also can occur as surface-water leakage from rivers, streams, lakes, and
wetlands. (USGS)

6. River runoff

Runoff occurs when there is more water than land can absorb. The excess liquid
flows across the surface of the land and into nearby creeks, streams, or ponds. Runoff can
come from both natural processes and human activity.
Infiltration is the flow of water through the soil surface. The rate of infiltration depends
on certain soil properties like texture, structure and moisture content. Soil profiles, or the
vertical organization of the different soil layers and the depth of the soil column, also
influence the hydrologic processes as infiltration rates will vary with different soil.

Surface runoff is the flow of water over land surfaces. The size of the basin or the
contributing area of the rainfall in a basin has a significant influence on the amount of
runoff.

Aside from the size, the shape of a basin also has influence on the magnitude and timing
of the flow of water along the basin outlet.

The narrower basin, on the other hand, water from multiple locations is less likely to
arrive at the same time, resulting to lower peak flow.

Slope of the basin is also an important factor to consider not only for surface runoff but
infiltration as well. The steeper the slope, the lower the infiltration rate because gravity
pulls less water into the land surface.

SUMMARY

1. Heavy rain and efficient runoff leads to more flooding events

2. In certain situations, runoff characteristics can be more important than rainfall

3. Soil properties like texture or vertical profile can significantly influence surface runoff

4. Basin characteristics (e.g. shape, size, slope) also influence infiltration and runoff

HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL HAZARDS

Hydrometeorological hazards are caused by extreme meteorological and climate events,

such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, or landslides. They account for a
dominant fraction of natural hazards and occur in all regions of the world, although the
frequency and intensity of certain hazards and society’s vulnerability to them differ
between regions.

The risks of flooding to population and infrastructure are continuing to increase due to
the acceleration of the global water cycle and rapid population growth. At the same time,
populations and economic activities in floodplains around the world are growing rapidly,
leading to a rapid increase in our socioeconomic exposure to floods (Wu, et.al., 2016).
1. Tropical cyclone is a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that
originates over the tropical waters. Tropical cyclones rotate in a counterclockwise
direction in the northern hemisphere (conversely, clockwise in the southern hemisphere).

The term tropical cyclone encompasses tropical depressions, tropical storms, typhoons
and hurricanes.

NOTE: the word ‘hurricane’ is used only in Eastern Pacific and Western Atlantic Ocean.
Although it is essentially a typhoon, this terminology is not applicable to the Philippines.

Below is a list of things that you can do before, during and after the passage of this type
of weather disturbance.
2. Thunderstorms are generally local storms produced by cumulonimbus clouds and are
always accompanied by lightning and thunder, usually with strong wind gusts, heavy rain
and sometimes with hail and/or tornado. Thunderstorms are typical in warm
environments like the tropics and may persist for 1 to 2 hours. Below is the list of things
that you can to do before, during and after a thunderstorm event.
3. Storm surge is the rise and onshore surge of seawater as the result primarily of the
winds of a tropical cyclone, and secondarily of the surface pressure drop near the center
of the tropical cyclone. The height of storm surge is dependent on the size, intensity and
movement of the tropical cyclone, shape of the coastline as well as nearshore underwater
topography and astronomical tides. Below is a list of things that you can to do before,
during and after a storm surge event.
4. El Niño is a significant increase in ocean temperature over the eastern and central
Pacific ocean. It occurs at irregular intervals ranging from 2-7 years usually developing in
the early months of the year and decay the following year. In the Philippines, El Niño
conditions are often characterized by dry and warm-hot events. Below is a list of things
that you can to do before, during and after a El Niño condition.
5. Flood is the overflowing of the normal confines of a stream or bodies of water, or the
accumulation of water over areas that are not normally submerged. Below is a list of
things that you can to do before, during and after a flooding event. While flooding may
last days or even weeks, Flash Floods are also caused by heavy precipitation in a short
period of time, usually less than 6 hours.

The Flood Forecasting Branch, the hydrological service of PAGASA has adopted a more
extensive definition.

Flood is "an abnormal progressive rise in the water level of a stream that
may result in the overflowing by the water of the normal confines of the
stream with the subsequent inundation of areas which are not normally
submerged".

The popular or layman's idea of flood is, in the strictest sense, the process of
inundation or the coverage by water of areas not normally submerged. Inundation is due
to water overflowing from streams and other bodies of water as well as by the
accumulation of rainwater by drainage.
Source: PAGASA

FLOOD: TYPES

MINOR FLOODING

 Inundation may or may not be due to overbanking

 When there is no bank overflow, flooding is simply due to the accumulation
of excessive surface run-off in low lying flat areas
 Floodwaters are usually confined to the flood plain of the river along the
channel, on random low-lying areas and depressions in the terrain
 Floodwater is usually shallow and there may not be a perceptible flow

MAJOR FLOODING

 Flooding is caused by the overflowing of rivers and lakes; by serious breaks in

dikes, levees, dams and other protective structures; by uncontrollable releases
of impounded water in reservoirs and by the accumulation of excessive runoff
 Floodwaters cover a wide contiguous area and spread rapidly to adjoining
areas of relatively lower elevation
 Flooding is relatively deep in most parts of the stricken areas
 There is a highly perceptible current as the flood spreads to other areas

FLASH FLOOD

 While floods take some time, usually from 12 to 24 hours or even longer, to
develop after the occurrence of intense rainfall, there is a particular type
which develops after no more than six hours and, frequently, after an even less
time. These are what are known as "flash floods".
 Flash floods develop in hilly and mountainous terrains where the slope of the
river is rather steep. The rapid development of the flood is due to the
extremely short concentration time of the drainage catchment. This means that
precipitation falling on a point in the catchment farthest from the river takes
only a short time to reach the river channel and become part of streamflow.
Thus, the amount of streamflow rapidly increases and, consequently, the rise
in water level. When the flow capacity of the stream is exceeded, the channel
overflows and the result is a flash flood.
PREPARATION OF FLOOD FORECAST

The preparation, issuance and dissemination of an adequate and timely warning is the
ultimate purpose of flood forecasting. Timeliness is an essential requirement for a
flood warning. A sufficient lead time enables the ultimate user to take the necessary
precautionary countermeasures.

The hydrological and meteorological conditions in a river basin and the consequent state
of its river system is never constant. The behavior of the river itself is the resultant of the
interaction of all hydrological processes and conditions in the river basin.

A flooding situation is not a daily occurrence. However, flood forecasting operations

must, of necessity, be a continuous activity. It is carried out from day to day even when
the possibility of a flood is highly improbable. This mode of operation enables flood
forecasters to pinpoint the beginning of a potential flood-generating situation.

Like storm bulletins which are issued only during the presence of tropical cyclones, flood
forecast and warning bulletins are prepared only when a potential flooding situation is
definitely present. They are issued regularly at specified hours of the day for the duration
of the flooding period until the flood recedes or when all hazards and dangers associated
with the phenomenon are no longer present.

The prevailing hydrometeorological situation in a given river basin defines the

operational environment under which flood forecasting and warning operations are
carried out. Conviniently categorized into:

In practice, flood bulletins are issued as soon as the development of a flooding exists. The
initital bulletin serves merely to alert the people in the threatened basin to the possibility
of a flood. It is never intended to categorically state that there will be flooding but only
of the possibility. The initial bulletin is issued as soon as the operational situation passes
fro the alert to the warning phase. The transition from one operational status to another is
based on the pre-determined criteria.

A flood forecasting operation consists of the following:

1. Monitoring

This requires the collection, at regular interval, of the real-time data on rainfall, water
level and other information that affect the hydrological condition of the river basin and
the state of the river system. This provides a broad picture of the current situation in a
river basin.

2. Analysis

The data are analysed and related to other available information such as storm data from
radar and satellite observation. The general objective here is to deduce the probable
development in the hydrological situation in the river basin in the near future. This part of
the operation involves a variety of hydrological analyses as well as the use of flood
forecasting models to provide an objective estimate of the forecast situation.

3. Preparation of the forecast and warning.  

Upon receipt of the coded messages, they are decoded and each set of observations is
plotted in symbols or numbers on weather charts over the respective areas or regions.
Observations made over land and sea are plotted on the surface or mean sea level charts
which are prepared four times a day. Radiosonde, theodolite, aircraft and satellite wind
observations are plotted on upper level charts which are prepared twice daily.

When required, flood bulletins are prepared twice daily. They are completed and readied
for issuance and dissemination at 5 am and 5 pm respectively, when it is deemed early
enough to provide vital information for concerned users to take necessary
countermeasures before they leave for work in the morning or before they retire at night.

A series of bulletins for a given affected river basin is ideally initiated by a Flood
Outlook. As the category implies, the bulletin merely states the present hydrological
situation and alerts the people in a basin to the possibility of a deteriorating condition,
e.g., a gradual and continuous rise in the water level.

Subsequent bulletins could be of any one of the three categories. Normally, for a given
affected basin, one bulletin is followed by another of the same in the next higher category
depending on the development in the hydrological condition and the forecast situation.
Hence, an Outlook is followed by another Outlook or by a Flood Advisory; or by a
Flood Warning.

When the situation had clearly reached its worst such that, at most the condition or, at
best, improvement can be expected, subsequent bulletins are of the same or by a next
lower category than the proceeding.

4. Dissemination of the flood forecast and warning.  

Flood forecasts are completed in time for release at regular preset time of issuance.
Dissemination is made through disseminating agencies such as the OCD, DSWD,
NDCC, and thru the mass media, particularly radio and television.

Below is a list of things that you can to do before, during and after floods.

COUNTERMEASURES AND MITIGATIONS OF FLOOD DAMAGE

A "Flood Advisory" is a warning that states the imminence of a flood situation. Thus,

it also contains suggested necessary actions that may have to be taken by the residents
and the community in the threatened basin. An advisory is issued when the hydrological
situation deteriorates further. It is also issued when condition is definitely improving
but caution is still necessary.

A "Flood Warning" is issued when a flooding situation is a definite reality at least 24

hours before actual flooding occurs. This category is maintained in succeeding
bulletins as long as the affected areas are inundated and the attendant dangers are present.
Aside from the forecast, a warning states the necessary precautionary measures and
actions residents as well as the affected community must take.

Flood bulletins are specifically directed to the public. They are intended to apprise the
people in the threatened area of the present situation and of the expected development. It
suggests the appropriate actions the community may have to take to prevent or mitigate
the disastrous effects of a flood.

As in any kind of disaster, the best countermeasures for flood damage prevention and
mitigation are those which are community efforts.

Floods cannot be prevented. To a large extent, however, they can be controlled

effectively. By this is meant keeping the river from overflowing.

There are a number of ways of accomplishing this before and during a flood:

A. Increasing the flow capacity of a river by cleaning the channel of debris, by dredging,
by straightening of channels, etc.;

B. Construction of dikes and levees; and

C. Sandbagging during floods.

Individually and collectively, people in a flood-stricken area must take

precautionary measures to ensure personnel safety and health:

A. People, particularly children, should avoid wading in floodwaters.

B. Where houses are expected to be flooded, people should move to higher places.

C. Electrically operated appliances should be transferred to upper storeys of buildings.

D. When electrical fines and outlets will be submerged in floodwater, power should be
switched off.

E. Flood damage mitigation and protection is a concern not only during the disaster. It
should be practiced before, during and after the occurrence of a flood.