Observational data of surface water flood events

Data regarding observed surface water flood (SWF) events are sparse or difficult and tedious to obtain. This dataset documents eight different SWF events in Switzerland. It comprises all data that are usually required for modeling SWFs, except digital terrain model data, for which only links to corresponding data providers can be given. For each event, the dataset provides the study site perimeters, coarse soil data, event-specific land use data as well as the corresponding hyetographs inferred from a blended radar and rain gauge dataset. Most importantly, the dataset includes observed inundated areas that were mapped based on all available material, which documented the corresponding SWF event. The material included direct documentations of SWFs (photographs, videos), indirect indications based on the traces of SWFs (aerophotographs, photographs, fieldwork), and witness reports. Thus, the dataset is not only suitable for quickly setting up a SWF modeling approach, but also for calibrating, validating and testing modeling approaches based on observations. The dataset contains eight SWF events widely distributed in the northwestern part of Switzerland, which includes seven different study sites, i. e., two different events were observed at the same location. Five SWF events were triggered by relatively short and intense precipitation, whereas the remaining three SWF events were caused by relatively long and weak precipitation. Overall, the dataset covers a wide range of different geographical settings. Thus, it is possible to test modeling approaches in different environments and circumstances. The dataset is available in English and German. The only difference is that the German version includes an additional summary report for each event.