Author(s): Negin Binesh; Giuseppe T. Aronica; Emina Hadzic; Fehad Mujic; Miranda Deda; Laura Rossello; Halim Koxhai; Simone Gabellani; Rocco Masi; Christophe Viavattene; Simon Mccarthy; Giuseppina Brigandi

Linked Author(s): Negin Binesh, Giuseppe T. Aronica, Emina Hadzic

Keywords: Flood vulnerability; Floodplain; Land-use; Resilience; Urban Infrastructure

Abstract: Flood hazard maps alone are not sufficient for a risk assessment. A main part of flood risk depends on the existence of vulnerable elements exposed to flooding in the region. In addition, in most studies, river flooding risk assessment is accomplished with the aim of hydraulic and social vulnerability to flooding, and vulnerability of Urban Critical Infrastructure (UCI) to flooding are ignored or gain less attention. This is while such critical hotspots are considered as the first-responders and have a major role in the process of rehabilitation and recovery after disasters. Therefore, their pre-assessment in a flood-prone area is of great importance. On this basis, the current paper aims at 1) comparing the fluvial flood risk zoning map, considering various land-uses and urban critical infrastructures (UCIs), 2) evaluating the level of UCIs’ exposure to flood hazard in the region, 3) discussing the general flood resilience and the possibility of increased vulnerability of UCIs due to a domino effect and indirect impacts of infrastructures on each other. This paper contains two case studies for two urban rivers in Berat, Albania, and Sarajevo, Bosnia. The analysis is mainly done in GIS environment, where various flood scenarios with different return periods are considered. The results have the potential to give insight to urban planning professionals for risk-based decision-making and dealing with infrastructure management in the region.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521711920221503

Year: 2022