Flash floods pose a major threat in semi-arid regions, often striking with little to no warning and leading to road closures, infrastructure damage, and even loss of life. Traditional monitoring methods, such as hydrometric stations, are limited in desert environments due to the region’s remoteness and complex, steep topography. Moreover, these stations are vulnerable to damage during extreme events and are often unavailable in real-time, thus cannot support warning systems. This research investigates the feasibility of using Israel’s national seismic network (TRUAA) for flash flood detection, characterization, and early warning. We aim to utilize the seismic signal induced by flash floods to detect these events and extract key hydrological parameters, including location, velocity, and discharge.
A dense seismic network (5-10 km apart) covers the western Dead Sea margin, Israel, since 2019. We expanded and densified the existing seismic network by temporarily installing three strong-motion accelerometers at varying distances from the Nahal Zeelim stream. Flash floods in this stream are monitored since 2017 by official hydrometric station operated by the Israel Hydrological Service. Additional water-level sensors and motion-activated cameras were deployed at nearby streams to document concurrent flood events and support seismic signal interpretation.
Preliminary results from the first recorded flood event in Nahal Zeelim stream demonstrate that flash flood signals are identifiable in the seismic data recorded by both the temporary accelerometers and the TRUAA stations. These promising results show that dense seismic networks might be used in desert regions to measure and detect floods in ungauged basins, thus proving early warning and critical lead-time for public safety alerts.