Temporal Changes of Flood Sensitivity in Awash Basin
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Date
2021-09
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Flooding is a natural disaster that causes considerable damage. Awash basin is susceptible
to flooding due to physical characteristics. Therefore, sensitivity mapping are essential for
comprehensive management to reduce the harmful effects of flooding. This research aims to
assess flood sensitivity in the Awash basin. The sensitivity maps use geographical
information systems (GIS). Indicators for Land use, soil type, river buffer and slope
determine the sensitivity of the area. There were significant temporal changes in flood
sensitivity in three years which had five time interval for each. Based on the flood sensitivity,
the slope, soil, river buffer and land use type were classified into 5 classes which include
least sensitive, limited sensitive, moderate, and sever and critical sensitive. Most parts of the
basin were found highly sensitive to flood when scores of the criteria were aggregated based
on experts’ weight than using equal weight. The flood maps show that the upper part of the
basin is highly sensitive due to slope and land use factor but there the flood sensitive areas
are expanding to the downstream part of the basin due to increased urbanization. The
output of the study can contribute to flood sensitivity management in the Awash basin; it can
be used by different institutions like the local disaster management authority, researchers,
land use planners, government, and for others who working with flood management. It helps
watershed managers to decide based on more informed data for flood mitigation. The most
important output of this research is that by using the flood sensitivity indicators, land use,
slope and soil, it is possible to obtain a temporal change of sensitivity to flood using a
method that uses readily available data instead of more complex flood risk methods.
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Keywords
Flood Sensitivity, Flood Sensitivity, GIS, Indicators, Awash Basin