Preliminary flood hazard and risk assessment in Western Athens metropolitan area

Abstract

The increase in urban population and the continuous pressure for cities ' expansion along with the increase in urban flooding phenomena in Greece and worldwide , stress the need for enhancement of flood risk mitigation efforts . West Athens urban area , in Greece , experienced a significant population clustering since the 1950s leading , in some occasions , to a poorly - planned development , even in areas with imminent flood risk . An issue becomes apparent , taking into account the rich flooding record , the extended damages in property and infrastructure and the 76 flood victims during the last century in the area . In this work , flood hazard is assessed in 10 municipalities of West Athens , with the application of a GIS - based methodology that exploits catchment morphometric characteristics to de - lineate flood hazard zones . Historical flood events are reconstructed to provide better understanding of the flooding problem in the area . Finally flood hazard was studied in conjunction with vulnerability to estimate flood risk spatial distribution . The results showed that areas around Fleva and Eschatia torrent , especially Mpournazi , parts of Ilion and Kamatero and some parts of Peristeri presented the highest flood hazard and risk values . Additionally , moderate flood risk appeared in several mountain torrents in west parts of Petroupoli and Peristeri .