## 5 Conclusions  
This study conducted a first assessment of the near real-time satellite precipitation product GPM IMERG-E in Morocco for flood modelling. In this work, an event-based hydrological model was developed for a semi-arid mountainous watershed based on two sources of precipitation (observed and estimated from IMERG-E). Following the determination of model parameters, calibration and validation tests, the model was able to reproduce flood hydrographs at a short time step, which is adapted to this type of semi-arid small basin. The main findings of this study are summarized as follows:  
1. Compared to the rain gauge data, satellite precipitation data overestimates the amount of rainfall with a relative Bias of 35.61%.
2. At the hourly and daily time scales, the GPM IMERG-E presents a fair accuracy to reproduce precipitation amounts and detect precipitation occurrence, with better performances at the daily time step.
3. The comparison reveals that basin-averaged GPM IMERG-E precipitation is in better agreement with interpolated precipitation over the catchment from observed data than a direct pixel-to-station comparison.
4. The flood events can be simulated using either satellite or rain-gauge precipitation with NS criterions of 0.58 and 0.71, respectively.  
To conclude, the studied satellite precipitation product presents satisfactory performance in terms of statistical evaluation and hydrological modeling. For hydrological purposes, this source of precipitation could be used in ungauged basins and in data scarce regions like Morocco for flood modelling and contribute to the development of early warning systems. Concerning the application of the IMERG product in hydrological modeling, ref. [66] previously noted that the product was suitable for heavy precipitation and [61] showed the potential added value of the IMERG-E product in near-real time applications.  
There is a need for further evaluation studies of this satellite product for hydrological modeling in other basins in north Africa and other semi-arid regions with similar climate characteristics. The type of event-based models developed in the present study with satellite precipitation and soil moisture data would represent an interesting alternative to continuous models since the data requirements for this type of approach are limited and could rely on remote sensing products, with GPM IMERG-E data for precipitation and ESA-CCI soil moisture. This model could be applied to simulate floods in un-gauged basins or basins where only daily data for precipitation and river discharge are available. This modelling scheme could be a valuable tool to help decision-makers (watershed agencies, water  
Figure 4: Floods simulated with GPM IMERG-E precipitation.  
services) and to understand the watershed behavior during heavy rainfall episodes and better manage flood risks. To this end, the development of early warning systems for flood alerts would provide viable opportunities to reduce the damage to properties and fatalities linked to floods.  
Conceptualization, T.S. and E.M.E.K.; methodology, T.S., E.M.E.K., M.E.M.S., A.N., A.H., Y.T.; writing--original draft preparation, T.S., E.M.E.K., M.E.M.S.; writing--review and editing, T.S., E.M.E.K., M.E.M.S., A.N., A.H., S.R., M.J., Y.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
The authors would like to express their gratitude for the Agence de Bassin Hydraulique du Tensift for providing the data required for this study.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.