Analysis of the Hazard, Vulnerability, and Exposure to the Risk of Flooding (Alba de Yeltes, Salamanca, Spain)

Abstract

Abstract:The present work has developed a method using GIS technology to evaluate the danger, vulnerability, and exposure to the risk of flooding in the Alba de Yeltes area (Salamanca, Spain). It is a non-structural measure for the prevention and mitigation of the risk of extraordinary flooding. After completing a full analysis of the physical environment (climate, geology, geomorphology, hydrology, hydrogeology, and land use), hydrological-hydraulic modeling was carried out using the GeoHecRas river analysis software. The results obtained from the analysis and the models have generated a danger map that facilitates the efficient evaluation of the spatial distribution of the different severity parameters (depth of the watersheet, current flow rate, and flood-prone areas). Also, map algebra and the databases associated with GIS tools, together with the vulnerability and exposure cartography, have allowed the risk to be analyzed in an integrate manner and the production of an environmental diagnostic map. The results of this study propose that there are inhabited areas close to the Yeltes-Morasverdes riverbed that have a high risk of flooding, indicating the need for proper land planning and the implementation of a series of measures that will help to reduce the risk of flooding and its impact.

Flood Vulnerability Mapping to Riverine Floods: A Study on the Old Brahmaputra River

“…Risk assessment is the identification of danger and estimation of the probability of an occurrence (Enhealth, 2002). The most common method used to define flood risk consists of calculating the hazard, that is, the physical and statistical aspects of the actual flood (for example: Flood return period, the extent and depth of the flood and flow rate) and the level of vulnerability, the exposure of people and things to the flood and the susceptibility of the elements at risk of suffering damage due to flooding (Veleda et al, 2017). This definition has also been adopted by the EU Floods Directive (2007).…”

Determinación del riesgo de inundación en la ciudad de Salamanca (España) mediante análisis de peligrosidad, exposición y vulnerabilidad

“…La población humana cada vez se aglutina más en grandes entornos urbanos, hecho que no parece detenerse (Angel et al, 2011), y en 2050 el 68 % de la población mundial estará concentrada en grandes urbes, frente al 55 % actual, pasando en Europa del 74.4% al 83.7 %, y en España del 80.3 % al 88.0 % (Naciones Unidas, 2018). Luego, es vital incorporar análisis del medio y de los riesgos naturales en la planificación del uso de recursos y en la ordenación territorial, especialmente al delimitar áreas potencialmente urbanizables, con el objetivo de garantizar una mayor protección de la población y sus bienes (Criado et al, 2017) y en el caso de las inundaciones evitar los daños derivados tales como pérdidas humanas, propagación de enfermedades, desalojo de viviendas, lesiones, pérdidas económicas, destrucción de mobiliario o anegación de cosechas (Fedeski y Gwilliam, 2007;Kaźmierczak y Cavan, 2011;Veleda et al, 2017).…”

Flood Risk Evaluation in Urban Spaces: The Study Case of Tormes River (Salamanca, Spain)

“…Due to urban expansion and the generalized invasion of flood plains [22,23], and the higher frequency of extreme events that cause floods [24], it is important to study and simulate floods in order to mitigate the damage they cause [25,26,27]. The damage can affect people, causing human losses, increased risk of spreading diseases, eviction of homes, drownings, injuries, and other problems [28,29,30]; or it may result in economic losses related to basic services—electricity, water, telephone, or the Internet—or infrastructure, such as the destruction and/or flooding of roads and bridges, deterioration of homes, or destruction of crops [31,32,33,34].…”