Flood Vulnerability Assessment of Delta State Utilizing Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)

Abstract

Flooding represents a significant global hazard with far-reaching socio-economic and environmental impacts. To effectively manage and mitigate these risks, accurate and timely flood vulnerability assessment is crucial. This research is aimed at assessing the vulnerability of Delta state to flooding, using remote sensing data and GIS-based techniques to delineate the flood prone areas within the study area. Six critical flood conditioning factors were employed to comprehensively analyze flood vulnerability within the study area. These factors encompassed slope, drainage density, elevation, flow direction, Soil and Land use. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to assign appropriate weights to each factor, reflecting their relative significance in contributing to flood vulnerability.By combining these weighted factors, the study generated a map of flood vulnerability, depicting the varying degrees of vulnerability among communities in the study area. Findings revealed that 4.3, 8.9 and 86.8 % of the entire study area were lowly vulnerable, moderately vulnerable and highly vulnerable respectively to flood. The study concluded that majority of the area in the Delta state is risky to flood. The resulting flood vulnerability map serves as a valuable resource for local authorities, emergency responders, and urban planners, providing a clear and actionable insight into the flood risks faced by different regions within the study area