Development of a new two-dimensional flood plain flow model, Hydro2de, is d
escribed. A finite volume approach is presented that ensures a nonoscillato
ry solution for flow conditions present on flood plains. The treatment of v
ariable bed topography, friction losses including vegetation, and the bound
aries between wet and dry cells are explained in detail. Tests are made to
check conservation of mass for flows in the presence of initially dry domai
ns. Numerical errors for flows diagonally across the calculation grid are a
nalysed and a correction to reduce these errors is proposed. Part II outlin
es the performance of the model for two floods on the Waihao River flood pl
ain.