Flood hazard in a semi‐closed basin in northern Ethiopia: Impact and resilience

Demissie, Biadgilgn; Teklemariam, Dereje; Haile, Mitiku; Meaza, Hailemariam; Nyssen, Jan; Billi, Paolo; Abera, Wuletawu; Gebrehiwot, Misgina; Haug, Ruth; Eetvelde, Veerle Van

doi:10.1002/geo2.100

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…The increase in the occurrence and frequency is evident from the historical flood records. These changes are also in line with changes in the stream channel forms (width, length, depth) and community perceived claims in the increase in flood discharge and frequency (Demissie et al, 2021). Demissie et al (2021) indicated a sudden increase in discharge characterizes flash floods of small rivers, with high flow velocities in the range of 2-3 m s-1 with Froude numbers greater than 1.…”

Section: Flood Trends and Driverssupporting

confidence: 58%

“…In association with this, for example, the annual total rainfall amount reported over Nekemte was as high as 2243.7 mm, and in general 2020 is wetter than 2019. Previous studies also Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 08 frontiersin.org reaffirm the increased frequency of flood incidents over the last 20 years (Mamo et al, 2019;Demissie et al, 2021;Wudineh et al, 2022). The studies identified land use change, vegetation degradation, and climate change and variability as the main driving factors for the increased incidents of flooding.…”

Section: Flood Occurrence and Associated Risks In Ethiopiamentioning

confidence: 58%

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Assessing flood risks and exploring opportunities for flood-based farming in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Desta,

Legesse,

Ahmed

et al. 2024

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Food grown in the rainfed system in Ethiopia is frequently insufficient to meet household food needs due to recurrent drought, which causes severe food insecurity. Ethiopia’s drylands have also been hit by an increase in torrential floods. As a result, the ability to adapt to shocks and risks decreases. Despite the opportunity of highland-to-lowland to lowland connectivity, the opportunities for flood-recession farming are poorly understood. This study maps flood recession opportunities incorporating national flood occurrence information, flood images, and SMAP surface soil moisture from Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) images in Omo Gibe basin and Mile sub-basin. The analysis demonstrates that during the past three decades, there have been substantial flood incidents in the country’s eastern, south-eastern, and southern regions. Notably, floods that happened in 1996, 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2018 affected 90, 91, 74, 74, and 69 locations, respectively. In 2020, flooding affected a considerable area (274 locations), which demonstrates the rise in flood hazards. Based on multi-criteria suitability analysis, about 32 million hectares of lowlands are highly suitable (61%) and moderately suitable (39%) for flood-based farming. In the Omo-Gibe and the Mile sub-basin, flood-recession zone mapping using a change detection approach revealed that Omo-Gibe basin has 107,359 ha and 29,550 ha of flood zones suitable for flood recession farming and Mile sub-basin of 8,048 ha and 88 ha, during the major and short rainy seasons, respectively. Our results highlight the extent of flood-prone areas and their suitability for flood farming and provide evidence of alternative strategies for managing flood risks. Consequently, identifying potential flood-prone areas using remote sensing technology aids decision-makers and subject-matter experts in introducing and demonstrating various types of flood-based farming. Further research is recommended to identify and validate appropriate flood farming practices under different biophysical and socio-economic contexts and explore complementary opportunities as well as support informed decision-making on flood risk management and recession flood strategies in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia.

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Section: Flood Trends and Driverssupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Flood Occurrence and Associated Risks In Ethiopiamentioning

confidence: 58%

Assessing flood risks and exploring opportunities for flood-based farming in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Desta,

Legesse,

Ahmed

et al. 2024

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…Rainfall variability and a rising temperature have affected rural people in Konso district of SNNP regional state, Ethiopia [ 42 ]. The serious damage of floods were including damage of farm land, loss of harvested and standing crops, loss of houses and house properties, and damage of settlements a semi-closed basin in northern Ethiopia [ 43 ]. High score of exposure to climate change and variability were related to drought risks and long-term impact of climate change [ 44 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact and adaptation of climate variability and change on small-holders and agriculture in Ethiopia: A review

Demem

2023

Heliyon

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“…In such environment, thus, the introduction and modernization of spate irrigation could improve the community's drought resilience (Gumma et al, 2020; Meaza et al, 2017; Meaza et al, 2018). Overall, in low‐lying areas, improving flood management is important in water catchment management (Demissie et al, 2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of catchment restoration on water availability and drought resilience in Ethiopia: A meta‐analysis

2022

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The coupled land degradation-drought impacts have been central challenges to ecosystem functioning and livelihood of farmers in Ethiopia. As a response, catchment restoration initiatives have been implemented since the 1970s. The objective of this article is to analyze the effects of such catchment restoration initiatives on water resources and drought resilience, using metadata from 106 peer-reviewed journal articles comprising 361 paired-catchment case-studies. The study shows exclosures, fanya juu (ditches with embankments along the contour), and soil or stone bunds are the major soil and water conservation (SWC) practices implemented to restore degraded catchments in regions prone to land degradation (with a high value for Fournier's degradation coefficient). Runoff depth was less in the treated catchments (97 ± 29 mm yr -1 ) than in the control catchments (168 ± 77) mm yr -1 (n = 217, p < 0.0001). A paired t-test also shows lower runoff coefficients in the treated (13 ± 10%) catchments than in the control catchments (25 ± 15%) (n = 57, p < 0.0001).The conjunctive use of SWC measures enhanced water infiltration into the vadose and aquifer zones. These measures are effective in reducing unproductive water losses. Moreover, the water level in shallow wells raised from a depth of 18 ± 11 to 2 ± 1 m after catchment management. In the dry season, well-functioning catchments promoted upstream-downstream hydrological linkages. The resulting base flow reduced hydrological, agricultural, and socioeconomic drought effects in the treated catchments. To conclude, catchment restoration practices in degraded landscapes have twin goals: enhancing freshwater availability and building drought resilience.We suggest scientists, donors, and managers to work on spreading restoration efforts to other degraded landscapes to improve water yield in the face of climate variability.

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Flood hazard in a semi‐closed basin in northern Ethiopia: Impact and resilience

Cited by 11 publications

References 92 publications

Assessing flood risks and exploring opportunities for flood-based farming in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Assessing flood risks and exploring opportunities for flood-based farming in the dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Impact and adaptation of climate variability and change on small-holders and agriculture in Ethiopia: A review

Impacts of catchment restoration on water availability and drought resilience in Ethiopia: A meta‐analysis

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