Role of land use and land cover change in flood risk management in Kilifi county
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Date
2014
Authors
Maina, Paul Mwangi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
An increase in the size of population has led to changes in land use and land cover to suit
the needs of the land users in Kilifi County. Land cover changes have led to an increase
in the number of floods after precipitation events. Land use and land cover change alter
natural drainage systems, impact on surface runoff and affects infiltration capacitiesfactors
which contribute to flooding. The impacts of floods are far reaching affecting all
spheres of life. Floods cause loss of lives, disruption of communication networks, water
borne diseases and destruction of property. Management of floods begins through
mapping of flood prone areas. The main objective of the study is to identify areas in
Kilifi County that are vulnerable to flooding with respect to land cover maps and generate
a GIS- based flood risk map. The specific objectives are to determine the rate andnature
of land use and land cover changes occurring in Kilifi in the period between 1990 and
2013, establish the impacts ofland use and land cover change on surface runoff and
infiltration capacities and to generate a flood risk map for Kilifi County. This will help
disaster management proponents within the county and the nation at large in filling the
knowledge gap required in management of floods. Results could also be replicated to .
other areas to solve similar problems. Three sets of Landsat images (1990, 2000 and
2013) will be used for the study and will be classified into forests, grasslands, croplands,
settlements, wetlands and other land- which includes shrublands, scrublands and
wasteland. Analysis and interpretation of maps will be done using ArcGIS 10.I.
Infiltration experiments will be conducted for each of the land cover classes to using a
double ring infiltrometer to determine the infiltration rates. A 30m resolution Digital
Elevation Model (DEM) for the area will also be analyzed in ArcGIS 10.1 to obtain the
slope, stream network, buffer, flow accumulation and the elevation. All these layers will
be overlain in ArcGIS 10.1 to generate a flood risk map.
Description
Department of Environmental Planning and Management,