Flood Risk Assessment with HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, and QGIS

As changing weather patterns accelerate, understanding and predicting flood risks has become a critical skill for environmental planners, engineers, and GIS specialists. Developing a reliable flood risk assessment methodology requires a solid grasp of hydrology, hydraulics, and geospatial analysis. This text-based course guides you through the entire process of flood hazard mapping and risk analysis. You will learn how to integrate geospatial data with hydrological and hydraulic modeling tools to simulate rainfall-runoff processes, analyze river channels, and map potential flood inundation zones. What you'll learn: - Understand foundational concepts of hydrology, hydraulics, and GIS-based flood risk assessment - Prepare geospatial data in QGIS, including processing digital elevation models (DEMs) and delineating watersheds - Set up hydrological models in HEC-HMS to simulate rainfall-runoff and estimate peak discharge - Perform hydraulic modeling in HEC-RAS to simulate river flow and map flood inundation boundaries - Integrate modern open-access terrain data and basic climate projection scenarios into your flood models - Create flood hazard and risk maps using QGIS to support environmental planning and decision-making You will start with core theoretical principles of hydrology and GIS before progressing step-by-step through data preparation, hydrological simulation, and hydraulic modeling. The course concludes with practical guidance on generating flood maps and risk reports using written explanations and structured exercises. This course is designed for beginners, environmental scientists, civil engineers, and GIS enthusiasts looking to build a solid foundation in flood modeling. No prior experience with HEC software is required. Start reading today to build the skills needed to analyze and mitigate flood risks in your community.