Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Identification of Significant Flood Areas in Lithuania

  • Water Resources and the Regime of Water Bodies
  • Published:
Water Resources Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

During preliminary flood risk assessment in Lithuania 54 significant flood areas (SFA) were identified. The detailed flood hazard and risk maps were prepared for these areas in 2014. European Union Floods Directive does not indicate the concrete criteria for SFA delineation. The uncertainty analysis shows that the total length of SFA is not very sensitive to used methodology. In some rivers the uncertainties of 100 year flood peek discharge (Q1%) were large, but the variation of SFA boundary location was relatively small due to properties of hydrological network. The catchment area and Q1% change rapidly near the junction with large tributaries, so the boundaries of SFA are usually attached to these junctions. The formal criteria are mostly used to evaluate the possibility of significant floods, but the delineation of SFA is usually based on subjective decision.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adaptive Flood Risk Management Planning: Experience from the SAWA Pilot regions, A report of Working Group 1—Adaptive flood risk management, Strategic Alliance for integrated Water management Actions (SAWA), 2012. http://www.sawa-project.eu/.

  2. Barisas, A., Kai šėlsta mūsų upės (Our Raging Rivers), in Katastrofos upių pakrantėse (Catastrophes in river banks), Vilnius: Mokslas, 1977, pp. 150–169.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bedient, Ph.B., Huber, W.C., and Vieux, B.E., Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis, London: Pearson Education, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bezuglovas, A., The ices jam flooding in Nemunas River and construction of Kaunas HPP, Geografinis metraštis, 1958, vol. 1, pp. 221–238 (in Lithuanian).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cluckie, I. and Han, D., Fluvial flood forecasting, Water Environ. J., 2000, vol. 14, pp. 270–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. De Moel, H., Uncertainty in Flood Risk, Amsterdam: VU Univ., 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks, Official J. Europ. Union, 2007, L288, pp. 27–34. http://eur-lex.europa. eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. do?uri=OJ:L:2007:288:0027: 0034:en:pdf.

  8. Drab, A. and Riha, J., An approach to the implementation of European Directive 2007/60/EC on flood risk management in the Czech Republic, Nat. Hazard. Earth Sys., 2010, vol. 10, pp. 1977–1987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Flood Studies Report, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Wallingford: Ins. Hydrol., 1975.

  10. Floodplain Management Guidelines for Implementing, Water Resources Council (U.S.), E.O. 11988, Washington, Council, 1978.

  11. Floods—Vulnerability, Risks and Management, European Topic Centre on Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation (ETCCAA), 2012, p. 48. http://cca.eionet.europa.eu/.

  12. Gailiušis, B., Jablonskis, J., and Kovalenkovienė, M., Lietuvos upės. Hidrografija ir nuotėkis (The Lithuanian Rivers. Hydrography and Runoff), Kaunas: LEI, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  13. International Glossary of Hydrology, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, WMO, 2012.

  14. Jablonskis, J., Nemunas River runoff within 180 years (in Lithuanian), Energetika, 1994, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 19–32.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Januškis, V. and Sabaliauskas, J., Some characteristics and consequences of flood in the Nemunas River lower reach, Hidrometeorologiniai straipsniai, 1971, vol. 4, pp. 43–52.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Januškis, V., Some peculiarities of the southern Baltic States rivers water level regime, Hidrometeorologiniai straipsniai, 1968, vol. 1, pp. 30–39.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Jonkman, S.N., Bočkarjova, M., Kok, M., and Bernardini, P., Integrated hydrodynamic and economic modeling of flood damage in the Netherlands, Ecol. Econ., 2008, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 77–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kilkus, K., Štaras, A., Rimkus, E., and Valiuškevičius, G., Changes in Water Balance Structure of Lithuanian Rivers under Different Climate Change Scenarios, Environ. Res., Eng. Manag., 2006, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kriaučiūnienė, J., Meilutytė-Barauskienė, D., Rimkus, E., Kažys, J., and Vincevičius, A., Climate change impact on hydrological processes in Lithuanian Nemunas river basin, Baltica, 2008, vol. 21, nos. 1–2, pp. 51–62.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Meilutytė-Barauskienė, D. and Kovalenkovienė, M., The spring floods parameters change in Lithuanian rivers, Energetika, 2007, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 26–33.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Noack, M. and Yörük, A., Uncertainty in hydrodynamic- numerical modelling of flood areas, Hydrol. Wasserbewirts., 2008, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 173–178.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Poška, A. and Punys, P., Inžinerinė hidrologija (Engineering Hydrology), Kaunas: LŽŪU, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment in Nemunas, Venta, Lielupė and Dauguva River Basin Region, Final report, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania (LHMS), Vilnius, 2011, p. 129. http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id = 417035&p_query= &p_tr2=2.

  24. Rainys, A., Kai kurie Nemuno deltos užliejimo pavasarinių potvynių metų aspektai (Some Aspects of the Nemunas River Delta Flooding during Spring Floods), Hidrometeorologiniai straipsniai, 1973, vol. 6, pp. 39–44.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Rainys, A., Nepaprastas 1958 metų potvynis Nemuno deltos srityje ir Kuršių mariose (The Extraordinary Flood in the Nemunas River Delta Area and the Curonian Lagoon in 1958), Geografinis metraštis, 1961, vol. 4, pp. 163–176.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Government of the Republic of Lithuania, Resolution for the replacement Resolution of Government of the Republic of Lithuania no. 241 “For extreme events Criteria approval.” 2006, Valstybės žinios, 2011, nos. 107–5059.

  27. Šikšnys, A. and Jarmakaitė, J., Kauno HE įtaka maksimaliems Nemuno upės potvynių vandens debitams (Influence of Kaunas HPP on the Maximum Flood Discharges in the Nemunas River), Vandens ūkio inžinerija, 2012, vol. 40, no. 60, pp. 46–53.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Simonovic, S.P., Floods in a Changing Climate: Risk Management, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Smith, K. and Ward, R., Floods: Physical Processes and Human Impacts, Chichester: Wiley, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Stankūnavičius, G., Valiuškevičius, G., Rimkus, E., Bukantis, A., and Gulbinas, Z., Meteorological features behind spring runoff formation in the Nemunas River, Boreal Environ. Res., 2007, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 643–651.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Stephens, M.A., EDF statistics for goodness of fit and some comparisons, J. Am. Stat. Assoc., 1974, vol. 69, pp. 730–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Taminskas, J., Potvynių rizika Lietuvoje (Flood risk in Lithuania), Geografijos metraštis, 2002, vol. 35, nos. 1–2, pp. 20–32.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Tsakiris, G., Nalbantis, I., and Pistrika, A., Critical technical issues on the EU flood directive, Eur. Water, 2009, vol. 25–26, pp. 39–51.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Vaikasas, S. and Rimkus, A., The studies of flood water levels dynamics in the Nemunas River delta, LŽŪU ir LVŪI mokslo darbai, 1997, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 108–125.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Vaikasas, S., Nemuno žemupio potvynių tėkmių ir nešmenų dinamikos modeliavimas (Flood Dynamics and Sedimentation-Diffusion Processes in Lowland of River Nemunas), Vilnius: Technika, 2009, p. 247.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  36. Valiuškevičius, G., Stankūnavičius, G., Rimkus, E., and Bukantis, A., Nemunas River run-off simulations using HBV model, Geografijos metraštis, 2004, vol. 37, nos. 1–2, pp. 27–34.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Veijalainen, N., Lotsari, E., Alho, P., Vehviläinen, B., and Käyhkö, J., National scale assessment of climate change impacts on flooding in Finland, J. Hydrol., 2010, vol. 391, nos. 3–4, pp. 333–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Werner, M., Reggiani, P., De Roo, A., Bates, P., and Sprokkereef, E., Flood forecasting and warning at the river basin and at the European scale, Nat. Hazards, 2005, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 25–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrology and Climatology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, LT-03101, Lithuania

    Edvinas Stonevičius & Gintaras Valiuškevičius

Authors
  1. Edvinas Stonevičius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gintaras Valiuškevičius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edvinas Stonevičius.

Additional information

The article is published in the original.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stonevičius, E., Valiuškevičius, G. Identification of Significant Flood Areas in Lithuania. Water Resour 45, 27–33 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807817050116

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807817050116

Keywords

Search

Navigation