Floods are among the most recurring and devastating natural hazards, impacting human lives and causing severe economic damage. Urbanization can increase the risk of flooding due to increased peak discharge and volume. Over arid urban areas of developing countries, flood disaster management is reactive, responding to prevailing disaster situations, mainly because of the lack of budget, equipment, facilities, and human resources. The approach required in a new city requires a different operative planning process, ruled by different kinds of specific indicators to be incorporated in the sustainable planning process. This study focuses on an approach to assess flood vulnerability as a planning tool using an integrated flood vulnerability index (FVI) with variables that are accessible in developing countries and arid urban areas. The research took place in the city of Mexicali, Baja, California. México. This index was determined by coupling the variables of three components: social, economic, and physical. The FVI reflects the status of an urban scale’s vulnerability. Variables were obtained from government data for the social and economic components, and a hydrological and hydraulic model approach as a physical component. The correlation of each variable to the flood was taken into account by using a general linear transformation. GIS was used as a tool for the development of spatial analysis. The results showed the spatial distribution of vulnerability at an urban district scale. It was found that 55% of the population is exposed to a vulnerability above the average value of the urban area. Integrating all the components will help decision-makers to implement strategies to improve the resilience of the area by attending the needs of the particular component that is more vulnerable.

Around the world, groundwater constitutes approximately 94% of the total volume of freshwater, providing a wide range of economic and environmental services. In Baja California, Mexico, groundwater provides around 60% of the required demand and has become an essential source for agriculture, industry and domestic use. Particularly, in the Guadalupe Valley, in the municipality of Ensenada, the development of diverse activities depends on the water stored in the aquifer. Among these activities, agroindustry stands out; due to its high value, it represents a regional development factor. The objective of this research consisted of identifying potential aquifer recharge sites as tools for the planning process for regional socio-economic development. The study consisted of four fundamental parts: (1) Compilation and identification of entry data of the recharge model; (2) identification and evaluation of the sites that have a greater or lesser capacity of water recharge, using a geographic information system (GIS); (3) comparison of the model results with the piezometric data of two wells in the study area and their relationship with precipitation events; (4) finally, the development planning instruments of the study area were identified, and the relevance of the present study as a planning tool was evaluated. The results obtained showed that 16.31% and 3.64% of the area presents a high and very high recharge potential, respectively. This article is useful for the authorities and users to develop projects for aquifer recharge in the Guadalupe Valley.

Water agreements between Mexico and the United States have been crucial to preserving and restoring the Colorado River Delta's wetlands. Nowadays, increased water demand and climate change in the Colorado River Basin could threaten the conservation of the Ciénega de Santa Clara, a 4709 ha coastal wetland at the Sonoran Desert's edge. The international Ramsar convention recognizes the Ciénega de Santa Clara ecosystem for providing vital ecological services, including habitat for endemic, endangered, and migratory species. The hydrology of this wetland has not been completely understood since the 2010-2011 trial run of the Yuma Desalting Plant. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify and quantify the hydrological elements essential for the conservation of this wetland, under three scenarios: (a) normal inflow conditions of the water sourcethe Wellton-Mohawk canal; (b) inflow reductions, and; (c) an increase of temperature due to global warming. Water and mass balances estimates were conducted every month during 2014-2015; in situ measurements of inflows were carried out on Southern International Boundary in Wellton-Mohawk canal, the Riíto Drain, groundwater, and precipitation: evapotranspiration outputs were estimated using local weather stations and Penman-Monteith formulations. Temperature increases were based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections for the next 100 years. Results showed disconnection in the surface flow of water from the wetland to the adjacent Gulf of California. This behaviour was observed mainly in the summer months in the three scenarios. The disconnections reduced the wetland area and water storage. The hydrological functionality of the Ciénega de Santa Clara wetland depends on the water supply from the Wellton-Mohawk canal, with a minimum continuous discharge of 5.10 m 3 s −1 during the summer months.

Las inundaciones se encuentran entre los peligros naturales más recurrentes y devastadores, al afectar vidas humanas y causar graves Palabras clave: inundación, tormenta de diseño, análisis regional de frecuencia, L-momentos, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, sistema de información geográfica, simulación.

Heat islands and floods have an impact on human life and the environment. In this research study, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) were used to identify the effects of urban heat islands and potential flood zones. The results were used to create a priority attention map for Mexicali, Baja California, as a planning tool for implementing green space projects. The land surface temperature was estimated from Landsat-8 imagery. For flood-prone area estimation and a topographic wetness index, a digital elevation model was processed with a spatial resolution of 5 × 5 m. The results showed the need to incorporate green spaces within the urban area since the inhabitant-green space ratio was 2.43 m2. Furthermore, it was observed that more than 60% of green areas do not significantly affect the reduction of heat islands; therefore, the effective ratio of green spaces with a cooling effect per inhabitant was 1.27 m2. The implementation of spatial techniques in GIS considering heat islands and potential flood zones has not been traditionally considered in urban planning and cities dynamics in developing countries in arid zones. However, the determination of long-distance conditions in comprehensive planning instruments could be implemented to increase urban areas resilience.