GIS based multi-criteria analysis for flood risk assessment: Case of Manouba Essijoumi basin, ne Tunisia

Abstract

Effective flood risk management requires updated spatial information to ensure that the correct decisions are made. Therefore, developing appropriate responses to prevent surface water flooding is highly required. This paper aimed to map the spatial distribution of vulnerability of communities to flooding, the hazard and the socioeconomic factors including land use that affect people’s exposure to flooding and nature of settlements. In addition, it focused on weights determination using Intelligent Decision System (IDS) by the means of pairwise comparison approach. The results reveal high risk of Manouba Essijoumi in the Northern part and particularly in Sebkhat Essijoumi, corresponding to the urban areas with high rain intensity and especially spontaneous settlements. The results of this study allow a new vision to the urban management schema of the region and propose some efficient strategies of flood risk management.