Soil moisture conditions and municipal pluvial flooding events in the Middle Tisza District

Data type: Time series data from 9 gauge station Measured variables: precipitation [mm] air temperature [°C] soil moisture [V/V %] (10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, 45 cm, 60 cm, 75 cm) soil temperature [°C] (10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, 45 cm, 60 cm, 75 cm) Area: Middle Tisza district Temporal resolution: Daily data Collection: Urban pluvial flood events in MIddle Tisza District between 2016-2025 File: Soil moisture data and urban pluvial flood events.xlsx Urban pluvial flood events Jászberény gauge station Jászkisér gauge station Jászladány gauge station Kenderes gauge station Kunmadaras gauge station Mezőtúr gauge station Nagykőrös gauge station Szolnok gauge station Tiszaföldvár gauge station Summary: We examined the circumstances before and during the urban flood protection activity in territory of Middle Tisza District Water Directorate. Our analysis covered the period 2016-2024 as we only have all data including soil moisture since 2016. Between 2016 and 2024, 24 cases where a degree (level I and II) was ordered because of pluvial flood situation in urban areas. These cases affected 19 settlements.Based on the available datasets, we analysed the relationship between soil moisture conditions and the occurrence of municipal pluvial flooding events. The assessment was constrained by data limitations, as reliable soil moisture measurements for the study area have only been available since 2016. In addition, pluvial flood events have become increasingly infrequent in both urban and rural areas in recent years, which further reduced the size of the comparable dataset.Despite these limitations, the results indicate a clear and consistent relationship between elevated soil moisture levels and the risk of municipal-level pluvial flooding in settlements as well as in surrounding rural areas. In nearly all analysed cases, increased soil moisture values were observed prior to the occurrence of pluvial flood events. Although high soil moisture in itself does not directly result in damage, it substantially reduces the infiltration capacity of the soil and increases surface runoff during intense precipitation events. Consequently, the probability of local inundation and damage rises significantly under such preconditioned circumstances.