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Geosciences
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Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas
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Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Hazards".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 21528

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pedro Pinto Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, LA TERRA, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: hydrology; flood hazard; risk assessment; disaster databases; vulnerability studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Floods continue to be a natural hazard process causing significant social, environmental and economic impacts worldwide, despite the deep knowledge that exists regarding the various drivers that explain flood-related disasters. This is partly due to the complexity associated with the scale at which physical processes occur—basin scale inter-acting with the floodplain scale—in respect to the hazard, but also regarding the social and territorial factors that shape exposure, vulnerability, coping capacity, emergency response and recovery.

In this Special Issue titled “Flood hazard and risk in urban areas”, particular attention is devoted to urban areas, without neglecting the role of the respective contributing areas.

We encourage the submission of literature reviews, research papers and methodologically relevant case studies on the following topics:

  • Complementarity of flood hazard assessment methods (geological, geomorphological, hydrological and hydraulic approaches);
  • Requirements and contribution of flood loss databases in improving flood hazard and risk evaluations;
  • Accounting for paleofloods in urban areas;
  • Enhancement of global flood hazard and risk models in urban areas;
  • Accommodating climate change effects in flood hazard and risk in urban areas;
  • Impact of spatial planning policies and land use practices in reducing/increasing flood hazard and risk in urban areas;
  • Flood early warning systems and Earth Observation monitoring for urban areas.

Dr. Pedro Pinto Santos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • flood hazard
  • flood risk
  • urban areas
  • flood impacts
  • assessment methodologies
  • climate change
  • spatial planning
  • land use dynamics
  • early warning

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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37 pages, 6807 KiB  
Article
Flood Susceptibility Assessment through Statistical Models and HEC-RAS Analysis for Sustainable Management in Essaouira Province, Morocco
by Abdellah Khouz, Jorge Trindade, Pedro Pinto Santos, Sérgio C. Oliveira, Fatima El Bchari, Blaid Bougadir, Ricardo A. C. Garcia, Eusébio Reis, Mourad Jadoud, Tarik Saouabe and Said Rachidi
Geosciences 2023, 13(12), 382; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13120382 - 12 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2328
Abstract
Floods are natural disasters that often impact communities living in low-lying areas in the northern and central parts of Morocco. In this study, our aim was to create a flood susceptibility map using three methods; the hierarchy process (AHP) frequency ratio model (FR) [...] Read more.
Floods are natural disasters that often impact communities living in low-lying areas in the northern and central parts of Morocco. In this study, our aim was to create a flood susceptibility map using three methods; the hierarchy process (AHP) frequency ratio model (FR) and the weights of evidence (WoE) model. We extensively examined the area identified by these approaches using a hydraulic analysis software called HEC-RAS (version 6.3.1). Our analysis focused on the Essaouira watersheds in Morocco, where we identified around 197 flood locations. Out of these, we randomly selected 70% for modeling purposes while the remaining 30% were used for validation. Ten factors that influence floods were considered, such as slope, elevation, proximity to rivers, drainage density, stream order, land use patterns, rainfall data, lithology (permeability level) index (TWI), and curvature. We obtained these factors from data sources. Finally, we generated a flood susceptibility map and evaluated its accuracy by calculating the area under the curve (AUC). The validation results confirmed that all three models were robust and effective with an AUC of 90. Moreover, the research uncovered a trend of vulnerability with the most susceptible area being in close proximity to the city of Essaouira along the Oued Ksob. A detailed analysis using HEC-RAS was conducted at this identified location, pinpointing the village of Diabat as highly exposed. These findings hold significance for flood management, empowering decision makers, scholars, and urban planners to make informed choices and implement strategies that can minimize the impact of floods in susceptible regions while minimizing potential damages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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21 pages, 25325 KiB  
Article
Ephemeral Mediterranean Watercourses Strongly Altered by Growth in Tourism: The Case of Benidorm (Spain)
by Estela García-Botella and Alfredo Ramón-Morte
Geosciences 2023, 13(8), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13080247 - 16 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1274
Abstract
Many ephemeral Mediterranean watercourses are affected by the growth of tourism and the demand for holiday homes. Calculating the runoff threshold in these small basins is vital for understanding the impact generated by urban growth and its incidence on the increase in flood [...] Read more.
Many ephemeral Mediterranean watercourses are affected by the growth of tourism and the demand for holiday homes. Calculating the runoff threshold in these small basins is vital for understanding the impact generated by urban growth and its incidence on the increase in flood hazards. The reconstruction of paleochannels, as well as appropriate scalar analysis and the use of geographical information variables, are fundamental for the correct estimation of flood risk and the implementation of coherent territorial planning policies. This case study of the Barceló ravine in the city of Benidorm, Spain, demonstrates the importance of the correct and complementary use of official, standardised, and open databases. The correct use of these geoinformation repositories, together with the fieldwork and historical reconstruction of paleofloods, form the set of strategic information variables for the study of flooding in these altered and dangerous watercourses that affect touristic urban zones around the Mediterranean. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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19 pages, 8946 KiB  
Article
Assessing 40 Years of Flood Risk Evolution at the Micro-Scale Using an Innovative Modeling Approach: The Effects of Urbanization and Land Planning
by Tommaso Lazzarin, Andrea Defina and Daniele Pietro Viero
Geosciences 2023, 13(4), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13040112 - 6 Apr 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3158
Abstract
The present work is aimed at assessing the change in time of flood risk as a consequence of landscape modifications. The town of San Donà di Piave (Italy) is taken as a representative case study because, as most parts of the North Italy [...] Read more.
The present work is aimed at assessing the change in time of flood risk as a consequence of landscape modifications. The town of San Donà di Piave (Italy) is taken as a representative case study because, as most parts of the North Italy floodplains, it was strongly urbanized and anthropized in the last several decades. As a proxy for flood risk, we use flood damage to residential buildings. The analysis is carried out at the local scale, accounting for changes to single buildings; GIS data such as high-resolution topography, technical maps, and aerial images taken over time are used to track how the landscape evolves over time, both in terms of urbanized areas and of hydraulically relevant structures (e.g., embankments). Flood hazard is determined using a physics-based, finite element hydrodynamic code that models in a coupled way the flood routing within the Piave River, the formation of levee failures, and the flooding of adjacent areas. The expected flood damage to residential buildings is estimated using an innovative method, recently proposed in the literature, which allows estimating how the damage evolves during a single flood event. The decade-scale change in the expected flood damage reveals the detrimental effect of urbanization, with flood risk growing at the pace of a fraction of urbanized areas. The within-event time evolution of the flood damage, i.e., how it progresses in the course of past or recent flood events, reflects changes in the hydrodynamic process of flooding. The general methodology used in the present work can be viewed as a promising technique to analyze the effects on the flood risk of past landscape evolution and, more importantly, a valuable tool toward an improved, well-informed, and sustainable land planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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19 pages, 2843 KiB  
Article
Statistical Analysis of Heavy Rains and Floods around the French Mediterranean Basin over One Half a Century of Observations
by Zeineddine Nouaceur, Ovidiu Murarescu and George Muratoreanu
Geosciences 2022, 12(12), 447; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12120447 - 4 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1911
Abstract
The French region adjacent to the Mediterranean basin is vulnerable to hydrological risks generated by convective precipitation in the form of heavy rainfall and conditioned by the configuration of the relief. These risks are driven by the increase in sea water temperature over [...] Read more.
The French region adjacent to the Mediterranean basin is vulnerable to hydrological risks generated by convective precipitation in the form of heavy rainfall and conditioned by the configuration of the relief. These risks are driven by the increase in sea water temperature over the last half century, which itself has been more pronounced since 1990. The statistical analysis on the frequency of rainfall intensity in a 24 to 48 h interval, correlated with the NAO, WMOI and SSTMED indices shows a recrudescence of rainfall amounting to more than 100 mm, which leads to the genesis of floods and flash floods. Furthermore, there has been a higher frequency of floods and disasters in this period. The intensity of material and human damage recorded following such local Cévennes-type phenomena is also due to urban development and population growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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24 pages, 12575 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Modeling of Inland Flooding and Storm Surge on Coastal Cities under Climate Change Scenarios: Transportation Infrastructure Impacts in Norfolk, Virginia USA as a Case Study
by Yawen Shen, Navid Tahvildari, Mohamed M. Morsy, Chris Huxley, T. Donna Chen and Jonathan Lee Goodall
Geosciences 2022, 12(6), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12060224 - 25 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3893
Abstract
Low-lying coastal cities across the world are vulnerable to the combined impact of rainfall and storm tide. However, existing approaches lack the ability to model the combined effect of these flood mechanisms, especially under climate change and sea level rise (SLR). Thus, to [...] Read more.
Low-lying coastal cities across the world are vulnerable to the combined impact of rainfall and storm tide. However, existing approaches lack the ability to model the combined effect of these flood mechanisms, especially under climate change and sea level rise (SLR). Thus, to increase flood resilience of coastal cities, modeling techniques to improve the understanding and prediction of the combined effect of these flood hazards are critical. To address this need, this study presents a modeling system for assessing the combined flood impact on coastal cities under selected future climate scenarios that leverages ocean modeling with land surface modeling capable of resolving urban drainage infrastructure within the city. The modeling approach is demonstrated in quantifying the impact of possible future climate scenarios on transportation infrastructure within Norfolk, Virginia, USA. A series of combined storm events are modeled for current (2020) and projected future (2070) climate scenarios. The results show that pluvial flooding causes a larger interruption to the transportation network compared to tidal flooding under current climate conditions. By 2070, however, tidal flooding will be the dominant flooding mechanism with even nuisance flooding expected to happen daily due to SLR. In 2070, nuisance flooding is expected to cause a 4.6% total link close time (TLC), which is more than two times that of a 50-year storm surge (1.8% TLC) in 2020. The coupled flood model was compared with a widely used but physically simplistic bathtub method to assess the difference resulting from the more complex modeling presented in this study. The results show that the bathtub method overestimated the flooded area near the shoreline by 9.5% and 3.1% for a 10-year storm surge event in 2020 and 2070, respectively, but underestimated the flooded area in the inland region by 9.0% and 4.0% for the same events. The findings demonstrate the benefit of sophisticated modeling methods compared to more simplistic bathtub approaches, in climate adaptive planning and policy in coastal communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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23 pages, 3460 KiB  
Article
Flood and Renewable Energy Humanitarian Engineering Research: Lessons from Aggitis, Greece and Dhuskun, Nepal
by Spyros Schismenos, Garry J. Stevens, Nichole Georgeou, Dimitrios Emmanouloudis, Surendra Shrestha, Biraj S. Thapa and Supriya Gurung
Geosciences 2022, 12(2), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12020071 - 3 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4490
Abstract
Climate and energy crises are increasing worldwide. Community-led humanitarian engineering interventions for localized sustainable development and disaster resilience could support populations at risk. This article presents findings from a study that investigated flood response and energy needs of two riparian communities in Greece [...] Read more.
Climate and energy crises are increasing worldwide. Community-led humanitarian engineering interventions for localized sustainable development and disaster resilience could support populations at risk. This article presents findings from a study that investigated flood response and energy needs of two riparian communities in Greece and Nepal. The findings indicate that the co-development of a hybrid unit for hydropower generation and flood warning is most preferred. This prototype could find applications in different riparian areas as either a main or supplementary system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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11 pages, 892 KiB  
Case Report
Physical- and Social-Based Rain Gauges—A Case Study on Urban Flood Detection
by Vitor Y. Hossaki, Wilson F. M. S. Seron, Rogério G. Negri, Luciana R. Londe, Lívia R. Tomás, Roberta B. Bacelar, Sidgley C. Andrade and Leonardo B. L. Santos
Geosciences 2023, 13(4), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13040111 - 6 Apr 2023
Viewed by 2671
Abstract
Floods are among the most frequent and costly rainfall-triggered disasters. In this context, geospatial content generated by non-professionals using geolocated systems offers the possibility of monitoring environmental events. This study shows a statistical correlation between in situsensors, radar, Twitter posts, and flooding events. [...] Read more.
Floods are among the most frequent and costly rainfall-triggered disasters. In this context, geospatial content generated by non-professionals using geolocated systems offers the possibility of monitoring environmental events. This study shows a statistical correlation between in situsensors, radar, Twitter posts, and flooding events. Furthermore, we observed in this study that flooding-related keywords are statistically more significant on flooding days than on non-flooding days and reinforce that Twitter can be employed as a complementary data source for flood management systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Hazard and Risk in Urban Areas)
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