The US Army Corps of Engineers Scalable Approach to Estimating Loss of Life from Flooding

¹ P.E., USACE Risk Management Center, 609 2nd Street, Davis, CA 95616, USA
² USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center, 609 2nd Street, Davis, CA 95616, USA

^a Corresponding author: jason.t.needham@usace.army.mil

Abstract

Although flooding can lead to many types of severe consequences, the primary objective of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dam and levee safety programs are to manage risk to the public who rely on those structures to keep them reasonably safe from flooding. Thus, reducing the risk associated with loss of life is paramount. USACE employs a scalable approach to estimating loss of life, where the goal is to invest an appropriate amount of resources to answer the question at hand. Given the large number of dams and levees within the USACE portfolio (over 700 dams and 15,000 miles of levees), a “one size fits all” approach does not work. Screening level risk assessments are carried out to initially characterize risk. That initial risk characterization informs prioritization of additional efforts such as interim risk management activities and more detailed risk assessments. More detailed risk assessments inform investment in long-term risk reduction measures, which include analysis and selection of major modification activities and implementation of non-structural measures including emergency management and evacuation planning. This paper describes the USACE scalable approach for estimating loss of life from flood events.