Coping with floods in Setúbal: a few steps towards an integrated approach

Abstract

Setubal is an industrial town, 35 km south of Lisbon, seriously affected by flood hazards. This is mainly due to the flash flooding occurring in Livramento River, a tributary to the Sado estuary in which an important harbor is located. Floods in Setubal were thoroughly studied and analyzed in the past, from a conventional hydrologic and hydraulic point of view. The research that is being carried out at present concentrates on two main areas of activity, both contributing to a more integrated approach to flood hazard management. The first area is the public perception of flood risk in the broader context of environmental hazards. The second complementary area of research deals with the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in the process of planning for flood control measures. At a later stage, the GIS and other computer graphic devices, will play an important role in involving the public in the decision-making process and in assessing the environmental impacts of different flood control measures. This research is being carried out by IST and LNEC as a contribution to EUROFLOOD (acronym for Flood Hazard Assessment and Management in Europe), an EC sponsored research project under the EPOCH Programme.