BMT WBM, a subsidiary of BMT Group, the international maritime design, environmental and engineering consultancy, has secured exclusive rights to the commercial distribution of flood frequency analysis software, Flike which will be made available shortly.
A recent major revision of industry guidelines for flood estimation, documented in the draft update of Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR), recommends the use of a series of statistical techniques for flood frequency analysis, the most important of which are Bayesian statistical methods and regional flood frequency analysis (RFFA).
Flike has been developed by Professor George Kuczera from the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and incorporates these recommended statistical techniques.
Flood frequency analysis relates to the frequency of a flood of a particular size with its probability of occurrence in any given year, for example, a 1 in 100 chance of occurrence per year. This is required so that land use planning and infrastructure design can be matched to acceptable levels of flood risk. Flike builds on more than a decade of statistical research by Professor Kuczera, with the Bayesian methods considered to be the most robust and defensible approach available at this time.
Dr Mark Jempson, National Practice Leader - Flooding at BMT WBM - explains: “Producing reliable flood frequency estimates is vital and recent research has allowed for more sophisticated approaches to be developed, including Bayesian methods. Flike is a unique piece of software that also allows the inclusion of ungauged historical events, as well as any regional prior information. The inclusion of Flike to our commercial software portfolio underscores BMT WBM’s dedication to R&D and our drive to convert the latest innovations into leading professional practice.”
For more information, visit www.bmtwbm.com.au