Wave Run-Up Influence on Overtopping of levees

A procedure for calculating probabilities of overtopping from the combined occurrence of floods and wave run-up with an application to a section of the Waal river in the Netherlands is presented. Annual exceedance probabilities are known for the floods. Run-up is computed from wind velocity and wind direction. A stochastic model for these quantities is established based on a record of 10-yr wind observations. The model is used for generating a series of wind velocities and directions. Combining these sequences with floods, the magnitude of the run-up and the probabilites of overtopping for some heights of the levee are computed. The sensitivity of the results with respect to the shape of the flood waves and the simulation models for run-up is studied.