Integrated flood forecasting and management system in a complex catchment area in the Alps—implementation of the MINERVE project in the Canton of Valais

A complex hydrologic-hydraulic model has been developed for the Upper Rhone River basin in Switzerland. It is currently operational in the Canton of Valais for real-time flood forecasting and management, providing automatic warnings to the crisis cell of the Canton as well as proposing preventive emptying operations of dam reservoirs to reduce potential flood damage. The system is connected with a database for real-time data transfer and a website has been created to provide information for flood management, such as warning levels, hydrological forecasts at the main control points of the Rhône River and its tributaries, precipitation forecasts over the whole basin, snow cover state and reservoirs water levels. Besides, a hydrological call center has been established for supporting the crisis cell during risked event situations.