EVALUATION OF FLOOD ANALYSIS UTILIZING THE HEC-RAS MODEL

Syria faces a spectrum of natural hazards, encompassing drought and desertification and recurring instances of floods. One poignant incident illustrating this vulnerability occurred in February 2015, when a family of four tragically drowned following the flooding of the Al Kabeer Al Shemali River in Latakia. This flood event inundated citrus groves and greenhouses on both sides of the river course. The research is investigating flow behaviour during flooding in the Al Kabeer Al Shemali River in Latakia, Syria, and developing inundation maps based on various probability scenarios (for three specific recurrence intervals and three different water elevation scenarios) utilizing the HEC-RAS software. The inundation spaces were identified using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, along with Digital Elevation Models (DEM) for contour lines. The findings indicated that the agricultural sector and urban facilities on the river are highly vulnerable to the impact of flooding, suggesting that the river is prone to flood hazards. Furthermore, the results indicated that inundated areas increase with the rise in the expected maximum values of flood intensity according to various assumed return periods.