This research was completed as my undergraduate thesis. This study includes a flood impact analysis, flood frequency analysis, and flood hydroclimatological analysis.
Floods are the most common occurring natural disasters that affect humans and their surrounding environment. Severe flooding poses a threat to communities in flood prone areas. In July 2022, Eastern Kentucky experienced severe flooding across 13 counties which included the city of Whitesburg, KY. This study focuses on the historical significance of this event in comparison to previous record high floods using 3 different processes: a flood impact analysis, flood frequency analysis, and a flood hydroclimatological analysis. The results show that the magnitude of the July 2022 flood event was significantly greater than the magnitude of historical floods for the watershed due to temporal differences in the atmospheric mechanisms present at the time of major flood events in Whitesburg. The July 2022 flood event was the only major flood to occur in Whitesburg during tropical storm season, and the atmospheric mechanisms present were greater in both amount and duration. This suggests that this significant difference in magnitude when compared to other major floods in Whitesburg is a result of the type, duration, and amount of atmospheric mechanisms present at the time of these major flood events.