Abstract
An exhaustive knowledge of flood risk in different spatial locations is essential for developing an effective flood mitigation strategy for a watershed. In the present study, a riskvulnerability analysis to flood is performed. Four components of vulnerability to flood: 1) physical, 2) economic, 3) infrastructure and 4) social; are evaluated individually using a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The proposed methodology estimates the impact on infrastructure vulnerability due to inundation of critical facilities, emer gency service stations and bridges. The components of vulnerability are combined to determine an overall vulnerability to flood. The exposures of land use/land cover and soil type (permeability) to flood are also considered to include their effects on severity of flood. The values of probability of occurrence of flood, vulnerability to flood, and exposures of land use and soil type to flood are used to finally compute flood risk at different locations in a watershed. The proposed methodology is implemented for six major damage centers in the Upper Thames River watershed, located in the SouthWestern Ontario, Canada to assess the flood risk. An information system is developed for systematic presentation of the flood risk, probability of occurrence of flood, vulnerability to flood, and exposures of land use and soil type to flood by postal code regions or Forward Sortation Areas (FSAs). The flood information system is designed to provide support for different users, i.e., general public, decisionmakers and water management professionals. An interactive analysis tool is developed within the information system to assist in evaluation of the flood risk in response to a change in land use pattern.
Highlights
Records of loss of life and damage caused by floods worldwide show that these have continued to rise steadily during recent years
An information system is developed for systematic presentation of the flood risk, probability of occurrence of flood, vulnerability to flood, and exposures of land use and soil type to flood by postal code regions or Forward Sortation Areas (FSAs)
The main objectives of the analysis presented in these two subsections are: 1) to model the impact of inundation of critical facilities of an FSA on its total infrastructure vulnerability, which is achieved by considering the “number of critical facilities” as vulnerability indicators [determined by using 4), as done for physical, economic, social and other infrastructure vulnerability indicators]; and 2) to model the impact of inundation of an FSA on its surrounding FSAs, which is modeled using a grid system
Summary
Records of loss of life and damage caused by floods worldwide show that these have continued to rise steadily during recent years. Bender [16] discusses the development and use of natural hazard vulnerability assessment techniques in the Americas He emphasizes how and why a thorough vulnerability analysis is required for physical, economic and social planning in a watershed. The additional innovations of the information system include: 1) the computation of selected flood risk-vulnerability indicators organized into themes from four components of vulnerability to flood, i.e., physical, economic, infrastructure, and social vulnerability [15], 2) the spatial infrastructure vulnerability analysis to flood due to inundation of main communication routes and road bridges, 3) the spatial flood impacts due to inundation of critical facilities (schools, hospitals, and fire stations) and 4) quantification of exposures of land use/land cover and soil permeability to flood.
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