Integration of GIS and Hierarchical Multi-Criteria Analysis for Mapping Flood Vulnerability: The Case Study of M'sila, Algeria

Abstract

This paper proposes the integration of GIS (Geographic Information System ) and HMA (Hierarchical Multi-criterion Analysis) offering a low-cost methodology to produce vulnerability maps. The quintessential role the rivers play in urban development has long been asserted and accepted. However, one of the subsequent consequences of these urban development activities is the increased frequency of floods. The case in point is the city of M’sila, Algeria. The subject city was settled along the banks of a river known as Oued El Ksob, which undoubtedly had a significant influence on its development. In the last 50 years, M’sila has experienced significant spatial growth, especially in its north and northwest sides. As such, the work presented in this article aims to assess the vulnerability of the city to the risks of flooding. The approach used is based on the combined use of the HMA method coupled with the GIS. The process allowed the graphical representation of the resulting analysis of complex data of the territory, i.e. the mapping of its vulnerability to flooding. The map has four vulnerability categories ranging from low to very strong. The proposed system serves as an essential decision-making tool for local government officials.

Illegal Construction Imposed by the Private Lands in Peripheral Urban Areas of M’sila, Algeria

“…This plan played an important role in determining the directions of the urban extension of the city. The general shape of the urban tissue has been configured in an oval shape due to its location within large areas of private agricultural land and crossed by a natural element which is the El-Ksob River [8]. As for the lands intended for construction, they were very limited, which produced a contrast between the components of the urban tissue, where there were dwellings attached to each other.…”

“…The city has experienced two types of urban extension. The first concerns the various collective housing, residential subdivision, and public facility programs carried out by the public authorities on public land [8]. The second concerns, essentially, individual housing in the eastern outskirts of the city made on privately owned land [4].…”

Best Fit versus Default Distribution and the Impact on the Reliability over the Design Lifetime of Hydraulic Structures

“…Flood Frequency Analysis (FFA) [1,2] plays a major role in the design of hydraulic structures because it affects both safety and cost of the structure. The principal objective of FFA is to construct a relationship between the flood magnitude and the return period by the estimation of the probability of exceedance [3].…”

Urban floods management using AHP and FMEA methods-case study of Bejaia, Algeria

“…Generally, the studies relied primarily on the multicriteria analysis, mapping, database, or GIS and remote sensing. Some authors proceed to urban flood impact assessment (Hammond et al, 2015), development of a method for characterizing and evaluating the human risk related to flooding in urban areas (Marion, 2016), application of the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) for the qualitative risk analysis of multifunctional flood defenses (Anvarifar et al, 2017), a stress test of urban system flooding upon extreme rainstorms in Hong Kong (He et al, 2021), agent-based modeling and flood risk management (Zhuo & Han, 2020), mapping flood risk (Ouma et al, 2014), flood *Corresponding author, e-mail: azoune.noredine@gmail.com mapping per representation of the risk at the intersection of hazard and vulnerability (Renard & Soto, 2015), urban flood vulnerability zoning using remote sensing and GIS (Sowmya et al, 2015), integration of GIS and Hierarchical Multicriteria Analysis for Mapping Flood Vulnerability (Loumi & Redjem, 2021).…”