Hydrodynamic modeling of storm surge flooding in the transportation infrastructure in southeast virginia

In this study, we develop a hydrodynamic model to study the vulnerability of the transportation infrastructure in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia to storm surge flooding under sea level rise. The hydrodynamic model was validated for tide prediction and its performance in storm surge simulation was validated with data for Hurricane Irene (2011). The developed model is then applied to two flood-prone critical spots of the transportation network: the Hague neighborhood in the City of Norfolk and the James River Bridge, and the extent, intensity, and duration of storm surge inundation under different sea level rise (SLR) scenarios are estimated. Furthermore, the difference between the results of the model and the simplistic “bathtub” approach in estimating the flooding is highlighted.