Geospatial techniques use for assessment of vulnerability to urban flooding in Bujumbura city, Burundi

Abstract

The rate of urbanization growth in tropical areas, particularly in African cities, coupled with a gap in the knowledge of vulnerability and coping capacities increases the flood-related risk in diverse communities. This study aims to evaluate the factors of vulnerability to flooding and to develop a vulnerability index in Bujumbura city, Burundi. To this end, both physical and socio-economic parameters accountable for flood vulnerability have been integrated with a geospatial analysis process based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) methods. The resulting vulnerability index shows that low-income households and their local infrastructures are the most vulnerable to flooding. Another finding reveals that higher vulnerability is due to settlements located in flood-prone areas with unplanned land use and ill-structured development planning.