Flood Vulnerability Analysis in the Neighborhoods Adjacent to the Pochote River in the City of León, Nicaragua (2023)

Abstract

Nicaragua occupies a territory where natural, physical, social, and economic dynamics create risk conditions that have historically led to frequent disaster situations (SINAPRED, 2005). According to INETER (2001), in the classification of municipalities by level of flood hazard, León ranks at level 9 on a scale from 1 to 10, which is considered high, based on the frequency of occurrence of flooding events. Given this situation, this study was conducted along the banks of the Pochote River in León, Nicaragua. The study population consisted of people living closest to the river. A deterministic or quantitative methodology applicable to urban areas was used to determine vulnerability indices, through the development of a parametric model and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to analyze flood risk in the micro-watershed. As an innovation, a mobile application (App) was developed to monitor the situation. The river was surveyed, identifying flood levels and marking critical points, specific features of the area, the condition of the gallery forest, and historical overflow zones—information useful for measuring existing vulnerability levels. An environmental to structural analysis was carried out to identify potentially flood-prone environments. A total of 218 residents were surveyed, one per household, across 17 neighborhoods and sectors, to assess their perception of flood risk. A total of 963 people lived in the 218 surveyed homes, including 312 children under 15 years old and 437 elderly adults. The vulnerability indices—based on housing materials, age of the structures, and soil types on which the homes