Flood risk modeling in the watershed of Charâa stream, Province of Berkane (North-Eastern Morocco)

Abstract

The knowledge on floods in Morocco is sporadic and scattered between historical writings and natural events following each other in time and space. In this context, the identification of areas likely to be affected by floods is essential for better management of this risk. The present study aims to model the floods at the level of the two sides of the Charâa stream (the side of Berkane and Sidi Slimane Charâ). The methodology followed in this modeling consists of determining the geomorphology of the watershed and studying its hydrology. 2D hydraulic modeling by Iber software makes it possible to follow the Spatio-temporal evolution of the characteristics of a flood. In addition, it allows us to map the hazard. Furthermore, to assess vulnerability to flooding, we referred to land use (physical vulnerability) to study the behavior of runoff water in the face of socioeconomic issues such as buildings, facilities, and the road network. The results showed that: (1) - A predominance of high-intensity flood hazard in the floodplain; (2) - Land with medium and high vulnerability successively constitutes 46.50% and 31.10% of the total studied watershed area.