Flood hazard assessment using AHP in Corum, Turkey

Abstract

In this study, the flood hazard of Corum province (Turkey) was investigated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is one of the most popular Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods, based on Geographic Information System (GIS). As a result of the AHP process, Corum province was categorized into five flood hazard classes: very high, high, medium, low, and very low. It was determined that 3% of the total area is under a very high flood hazard, and 25% is considered a high flood hazard. To assess the validity of the flood hazard map, the results were compared with the historical flood inventory. Our hazard map was compatible with the historical flood inventory, and our hazard map can now be used to estimate the areas that are threatened by possible floods. When the existing structural measures are overlapped with the hazard map in Corum, it is understood that a large part of the structural measures carried out to date have focused on the areas of very high and high flood hazard in the flood hazard map. Future structural measures and detailed studies should now address other areas identified as under threat in the flood hazard map. Our results suggest that the hazard assessment based on MCDA is suitable for flood hazard mapping.