Ivan Boekelheide
April 9, 2012
GIS Assignment 8
Project Proposal
1. The 2011 flood in Thailand caused severe damage throughout the central plains of the country.
Despite seasonal monsoons, the country was not ready for this scale of flooding. I would like to
look at areas that were particularly vulnerable to the flooding. My hope is to identify vulnerable
areas in Thailand which can provide information about best strategies for future prevention.
2. List of Sources:
1) Lebel, Louis; Jesse Manuta; Po Garden, “Institutional traps and vulnerability to changes in
climate and flood regimes in Thailand,” Regional Environmental Change, Vol. 11, Issue 2
(3/1/2011) http://www.springerlink.com/content/n40234346vt15273/export-citation/
This article examines how flood responses can be more effectively managed. The article
offers ideas for the shortcomings in the Thai response to the 2011 flood and how that made the
problem worse. The focus is on social factors that affected flood plains and other natural areas
for water run-off.
2) Kuntiyawichai, K., Schultz, B., Uhlenbrook, S., Suryadi, F. X. and Van Griensven, A. (2011),
“Comparison of flood management options for the Yang River Basin, Thailand.” Irrigation and
Drainage, 60: 526–543. doi: 10.1002/ird.596
This article examines the Yang River Basin in Northeast Thailand to consider ideas for
dealing with flooding. The article uses GIS technique and Thai government data to layer maps
that describe flooding problems. Although the location in Thailand is slightly different than my
focus, this article is a great source for technique on how to think about and address the issue of
flooding in Thailand.
3) Sanyal, J. and Lu, X. X. (2005), “Remote sensing and GIS-based flood vulnerability
assessment of human settlements: a case study of Gangetic West Bengal, India.” Hydrol.
Process., 19: 3699–3716. doi: 10.1002/hyp.5852
(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.5852/abstract)
This article uses Gangetic West Bengal as a case study for rural settlement
vulnerabilities to seasonal flooding. The study uses satellite imagery and spatial analysis to show
vulnerable areas. While this region is home to smaller communities than found in Thailand, the
process of examining rural vulnerabilities is germane to my project. I believe this study provides
insight into using spatial analysis to map areas vulnerable to flooding.
4) Wang, Yamei; Zhongwu Li; Zhenghong Tang and Guangming Zeng (2011), “A GIS-Based
Spatial Multi-Criteria Approach for Flood Risk Assessment in the Dongting Lake Region,
Hunan, Central China.” Water Resources Management. Volume 25, Number 13, 3465-3484,
DOI: 10.1007/s11269-011-9866-2
(http://www.springerlink.com/content/66061713l1880820/abstract/)
This study offers another example of using GIS spatial analysis for flood risk assessment.
Here, the focus is China. I plan to consider the methods used in this article for my project. I
especially like how the authors have categorized different degrees of risk. I hope to use a similar
scale to show which parts of Thailand are more vulnerable to flooding.
3. I am not sure about all the spatial analysis tools I will use. I plan to use a buffer zone as a way to
show flood vulnerability areas with varying degrees of vulnerability based on proximity to the
flooding river. I plan to use various geospatial statistics to create a gradient of vulnerability. If
possible, I will include population, agriculture, factories, hospitals, schools and other possible
landmarks affected by flooding. This information will create target areas for future investment
in flood prevention strategies, possibly in the form of a suitability analysis.
4. Data Layers:
Data Layer:
1 Administrative
Boundaries (Levels
0,1,2)
2 Thai Drainage
Network
3
Thailand Land Use
4
Thailand Rivers and
Streams
5
Satellite Flooding
Imagery
Source:
GISTDA
(https://gistdata.itos.uga.edu/data/south_asia/countries/thail
and/datasets/amphoe.zip)
University of Georgia
(https://gistdata.itos.uga.edu/data/south_asia/countries/thail
and/datasets/dnnet.zip)
UNESCAP
(https://gistdata.itos.uga.edu/data/south_asia/countries/thail
and/datasets/landuse.zip)
UNESCAP
(https://gistdata.itos.uga.edu/data/south_asia/countries/thail
and/datasets/stream.zip)
Thailand Flood Monitoring System (http://flood.gistda.or.th/)