Floods are natural phenomena, which can have severe economic, social and environmental consequences. An increased number of people and economic assets are located in riverine flood plain areas.

Riverine flooding occurs when rising water levels in rivers cause river bank overtopping. The rising water level may be caused by heavy snowmelt or high-intensity rainfall creating soil saturation and high runoff either directly or in upstream catchment areas.

Locally, rising groundwater after prolonged natural recharge may contribute to severity of the flooding. Also dam and embankment failures are important causes for flooding.

Application of MIKE FLOOD or MIKE 11 can enhance the knowledge of the impacts of flooding from rivers, and provide scenario analysis to understand how to alleviate flooding.