Development and application of efficient methods for the forward propagation of epistemic uncertainty and sensitivity analysis within complex broad-scale flood risk system modelsThis article is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue on Hydrotechnical Engineering.

Increasingly, an understanding of flood risk across regions and nations, and an ability to explore how these might change in time, is seen as a prerequisite to effective and efficient flood risk management. In response, specific flood risk analysis methods have been developed that are both accurate and fast to run. Although widely acknowledged as desirable, it has not previously been possible to quantify the uncertainty associated with the assessed flood probability, consequence, or risk. To help overcome this deficiency, an efficient method for the propagation of epistemic uncertainties through large-scale flood risk system models has been developed and trialed for three pilot catchments. The approach is allied to an efficient sensitivity analysis that enables the influence of individual uncertainties on the output quantity of risk to be isolated, enabling future research, development, and data-gathering efforts to be focused.