Estimation of the flood vulnerability index (FVI) for Alexandria city , Egypt: A case study

Abstract

Climate change and urbanization are likely to increase the vulnerability of cities by increasing the intensity of flooding, which causes damage to the communities. The objective of this research is to estimate the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI) for Alexandria City to assist decision-makers develop priority urban flood plans and identify methods for reducing flood risk. In this study, the FVI is generally estimated throw three components: social, physical, and environmental. Moreover, eleven major indicators are used to represent each of these three components, and they are classified according to the three flood factors: exposure, susceptibility, and resilience. Geographic information system (GIS), and remote sensing (RS) are applied to obtain the required data and develop maps for identifying the urban flood indictors. The study area has been divided to 16 zones regarding its administrative classification The 16 zones in Alexandria city's Vulnerability Index for the three components (social, physical , and environmental ) and the overall FVI have been estimated. Population, population density, population access to sanitation, and warning system are used as the four indicators for the social component, whereas the four indicators used for the physical components, are approximately of stream, elevation, rainfall amount , and slope. The environmental component, is evaluated by using three indicators , land use, urban growth, and flood recovery time. The index assigns a number among 0 and 1, indicating relatively low or high urban flood vulnerability. The findings demonstrate that FVI offers a way to assess flood vulnerability and obtain appropriate adaptation choices.

Keywords

• urban flood
• vulnerability index
• gis
• decision making