Multi-scenario hydrological and hydraulic modeling to support flood mitigation planning: a case study in Bangui, Central African Republic

This thesis work is the result of an internship experience in Studio Galli Ingegneria, Padua, and it is focused on a Flood Risk project in the city of Bangui, located in the Central African Republic. This country is a developing nation, where the population increased drastically in the last few decades, leaving no space for a rational and safe growth. Bangui has experienced a population densification that led to an over-occupation of the land and a dangerous limitation of permeable ground. The project aims to increase the resilience of the town to heavy rainfall and flooding, taking into consideration the climate change effect, a phenomenon that will impact the intensity and frequency of flooding events in the next decades. The technical solutions proposed include the construction of drainage channels, the rehabilitation of existing ones and the reconstruction of embankments. Along with these strictly hydraulic interventions, a series of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been studied and proposed. These interventions will be integrated with the hydraulic structures, for a final work that is not only efficient, but that also pays attention to the environmental and territorial aspect. The present thesis work will discuss the Preliminary Project, with a particular focus on the hydrological and hydraulic modeling that have been conducted in order to correctly design the flood mitigation measures that will be implemented in the future.