NWS Simplified Dam-Break Flood Forecasting Model

The National Weather Service (NWS) developed a simplified procedure in 1983 for predicting downstream flooding produced by a dam failure. This procedure, known as the Simplified Dam Break (SMPDBK) Flood Forecasting Model, produces information needed for delineating areas endangered by dam-break floodwaters while substantially reducing the amount of time, data, computer facilities, and technical expertise required in employing more highly sophisticated unsteady flow routing models such as the NWS DAMBRK model. The SMPDBK model can easily be processed on an inexpensive microcomputer; and with a minimal amount of data, the user may within minutes predict the dam-break floodwave peak flows, peak flood elevations, and peak travel times at selected downstream points. This capacity for providing results quickly and efficiently makes the SMPDBK model a useful forecasting tool in a dam failure emergency when warning response time is short, data are sparse, or large computer facilities are inaccessible. The SMPDBK model is also useful for pre-event dam failure analysis by emergency management personnel engaged in preparing disaster contingency plans when the use of other flood routing models is precluded by limited resources.