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Theor Appl Climatol (2009) 96:337344 DOI 10.1007/s00704-008-0044-2
ORIGINAL PAPER
The best fitting distribution of annual maximum rainfall in Peninsular Malaysia based on methods of L-moment and LQ-moment
Wan Zawiah Wan Zin & Abdul Aziz Jemain &
Kamarulzaman Ibrahim
Received: 9 January 2008 /Accepted: 21 May 2008 / Published online: 17 July 2008 # Springer-Verlag 2008
Abstract The main objective of this study is to determine the best fitting distribution to describe the annual series of maximum daily rainfall from 1975 to 2004 for 50 rain gauge stations in Peninsular Malaysia based on L-moment and LQ-moment. Five three-parameter extreme-value distributions which are considered are generalized extreme value (GEV), generalized Pareto (GP), generalized logistic (GL), lognormal (LN3) and Pearson (P3) distributions. The estimation of parameters of these distributions is determined using the L-moment and LQ-moment. The adequacy of the distributions based on parameter estimates computed using the two methods are evaluated using goodness-of-fit tests. When the goodness-of-fit results for these distributions are compared, it is found that, on the average, the performance of L-moment is better than the performance of LQ-moment. Although the best fitting distribution may vary according to the method of estimation and stations considered, in most cases, data for the majority of the stations are found to follow the generalized logistic distribution.
1 Introduction
Extreme rainfall events could cause disasters, which contribute to loss of property and life. In the peninsular of Malaysia, for example, a massive flood which had occurred in a southern state had resulted in a total loss of RM 1.5 billion, believed to be the most costly disaster in the
Malaysian history. A total of about 110,000 people were evacuated and 18 deaths were recorded. Over the past 10 years, heavy rainfall particularly for a period of a few hours, had contributed to an increase in the frequency of flash flood in urban areas and landslides in several parts of the country. Considering these phenomenon, the analysis of extreme rainfall data can be utilized for decision makers to set-up measures for reducing the impact of the disaster.
In this study, an analysis of extreme rainfall event has been undertaken using the annual series of maximum daily rainfall data for the period of 30 years at 50 stations in Peninsular Malaysia....