International Journal of Research in Social Sciences
Year : 2017, Volume : 7, Issue : 5
First page : ( 29) Last page : ( 47)
Online ISSN : 2249-2496.

Applied Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing: Flood hazard risk assessment in the city of Bulawayo

Madzimur Farai

Online published on 20 June, 2019.

Abstract

The study assessed flood hazard risk for the city of Bulawayo to determine its resilience to flood hazard events. Remote sensing data and GIS tools were used in the assessment of the flood hazard risk. Flood hazard mapping was done by testing the probability of the occurrence of flooding with the height above the nearest channel base in ILWIS Academic (ITC, 2003). Logistic regression was employed to predict the occurrence of flooding with height above the channel base. The study used the logistic regression equation which was derived for the Musengezi basin for predicting the probability of flooding. Results indicated that the probability of flooding in the city of Bulawayo could be predicted reliably using the nearest channel base. The study also established that the people and infrastructure in residential areas such as Makokoba, Parklands, Richmond and Northend were not vulnerable to the risk of flooding since they were located in flood safe areas. People in areas such as Matsheumhlope, Riverside and Mahatshula were in the high flood hazardous zones and were therefore vulnerable to the risk of flooding. The research findings imply that the city planners of Bulawayo need to take note of the following critical recommendations in order to improve the city `s resilience to flood hazards events: There is need to establish early warning systems in high flood hazard risk zones such as Matsheumhlope, Riverside and Mahatshula. It is also crucial to put in place emergency shelter and evacuation routes to improve urban sustainability or the ability of the city to cope with flooding events in the future. The emergency shelters should be established in flood safe areas such as Makokoba, Parklands, Richmond and Northend. The information on the spatial distribution of flood hazard should also be used by planners in siting and designing of infrastructure in flood prone areas.

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Keywords

GIS, Remote sensing, flood hazard.

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