Flood Assessment for Risk-Informed Planning along the Sirba River, Niger

Maurizio Tiepolo, Maurizio Rosso, Giovanni Massazza, Elena Belcore, Souradji Issa and Sarah Braccio
Additional contact information
Maurizio Tiepolo: DIST, Politecnico and University of Turin, viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Turin, Italy
Maurizio Rosso: DIATI, Politecnico of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Giovanni Massazza: DIST, Politecnico and University of Turin, viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Turin, Italy
Elena Belcore: DIST, Politecnico and University of Turin, viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Turin, Italy
Souradji Issa: Direction Departementale de l’Agriculture, Gothèye, Niger
Sarah Braccio: DIST, Politecnico and University of Turin, viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Turin, Italy

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: South of the Sahara, flood vulnerability and risk assessments at local level rarely identify the exposed areas according to the probability of flooding or the actions in place, or localize the exposed items. They are, therefore, of little use for local development, risk prevention, and contingency planning. The aim of this article is to assess the flood risk, providing useful information for local planning and an assessment methodology useful for other case studies. As a result, the first step involves identifying the information required by the local plans most used south of the Sahara. Four rural communities in Niger, frequently flooded by the Sirba River, are then considered. The risk is the product of the probability of a flood multiplied by the potential damage. Local knowledge and knowledge derived from a hydraulic numerical model, digital terrain model, very high resolution multispectral orthoimages, and daily precipitation are used. The assessment identifies the probability of fluvial and pluvial flooding, the exposed areas, the position, quantity, type, replacement value of exposed items, and the risk level according to three flooding scenarios. Fifteen actions are suggested to reduce the risk and to turn adversity into opportunity.

Keywords: climate change; contingency plan; flood risk; local development plan; risk management; sustainable rural development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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