Abstract
Floods are a great concern for people and infrastructure, and this is an issue which has increased in several regions around the globe in recent years. This study aims to evaluate flood risk areas and create a flood risk map using integrated remote sensing data and a geographic information system (GIS) in the Wasit governorate – eastern Iraq. Specifically, GIS‑based multi‑criteria analysis (MCA) was used to map flood hazard areas using a four‑criteria layer which is as follows: flow accumulation, slope, rainfall, and elevation. These four layers are standardized and combined using the overlay approach in ArcGIS software and a final map was produced. The study area was divided into five zones based on the results map, namely: very low, low, medium, high, and very high, according to the flood risk area. The resulting map indicates that over 60% of the study area is likely to experience a high and very high level of propensity of flooding. This study could be useful for government planners and decision‑makers to predict potential flooding areas and enhance flood management plans.
Highlights
Natural disasters are very common due to the unexpected variation in the state of natural elements because of natural forces
This study aims to evaluate flood risk areas and create a flood risk map using in‐ tegrated remote sensing data and a geographic information system (GIS) in the Wasit governorate – eastern Iraq
Flood risk mapping is an essential component for relevant land use planning in flood plain areas and it aids in the efforts of city planners and admin‐ istrators to prioritize their mitigation or relief response
Summary
Natural disasters are very common due to the unexpected variation in the state of natural elements because of natural forces. Floods are considered one of the most naturally occurring disasters that intensively affect humans and the environ‐ ment [1, 2] They occur when a river or stream breaks out naturally or artificially because of heavy rainfall, excessive snow melt, or the failure of dams. In this regard, there are three well‐known types of floods, namely flash floods, river floods, and coastal floods [3]. Flood risk mapping is an essential component for relevant land use planning in flood plain areas and it aids in the efforts of city planners and admin‐ istrators to prioritize their mitigation or relief response. Some of the criteria that contribute to flood susceptibility and which have been used in several studies are: slope, distance from rivers, rainfall, and elevation [5]
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