Assessment of flood vulnerability in Bodva river basin, Slovakia

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present the results of the assessment of flood vulnerability using multicriteria analyses (MCA) and geographical information systems (GIS) tools. The analyses were made in case study area of the Bodva river basin located in the eastern part of Slovakia. In the study, attention was focused on the causative natural factors for flooding in the river basin, such as soil type, precipitation, land use, the size and slope of the basin. The identification of flood vulnerability is comprised of two basic phases. Firstly, the effective factors causing floods are identified. Secondly, several approaches to MCA in a GIS environment are applied, and these approaches are evaluated in order to prepare flood vulnerability map. The flood vulnerability was evaluated in four classes – acceptable, moderate, undesirable and unacceptable. The results of analyses are a vulnerability map of the study area and a calculation of percentage area of each vulnerability class. More than 40% of the area represents an area with a higher scale of vulnerability. The results show areas to which should be given greater attention in the implementation of preventive or rescue work.

Keywords

• flood
• vulnerability
• geographical information system
• multicriteria analysis