Funded by DG-ECHO and led by INRAE, the NEPTUNE project (Nowcasting and impact-basEd PredicTions of inUndations in mediterraNean catchmEnts) is dedicated to the development of tools for flood forecasting to enhance risk management in the cross-border Italy-France area, and more broadly in the Mediterranean region.
NEPTUNE focuses on intense and short-duration precipitation events that lead to flash floods, which are extremely difficult to predict. To enhance prediction, the project strengthens precipitation estimates and small-scale hydrological and meteorological forecasts. Subsequently, a model is developed to provide real-time information on flood risk. The methodologies and tools are tested in the Italian-French Roya river basin.
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
CIMA Research Foundation develops a forecasting chain tested during the event that affected the Roya basin in October 2020 (Storm Alex). We contribute to all phases of the chain: from developing products that combine information from meteorological radar and atmospheric models, to implementing the high-resolution space-time Continuum hydrological model for the entire basin, and finally to developing a dynamic algorithm for estimating flood impacts based on hydro-meteorological forecast results.
