EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY TO FLOODS IN URBAN AREAS. CASE STUDY OF GALAȚI CITY (ROMANIA)

Abstract

Exposure and vulnerability to floods in urban areas. Case study of Galai city (Romania). Urban flooding is among the most severe ones, since it acts on highly populated areas, with high density of socio-economic objectives. After presenting the general context of urban flooding and the specific meaning of exposure/vulnerability, the first part of this paper contextualizes the case study area: Galati city, the most important Romanian river port. The authors created a geographical information system for multilayer analysis based on simulations of potential flooding at different characteristic levels: defense, attention, flooding and danger. On this base, the main elements at risk were inventoried and interpreted according to their significance and in relation with the consequences of a real historical flooding (occurred in 2010)