Work

Identification of Potential Flood-Prone Areas in the Republic of Kosovo Using GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Decision-Making and the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Floods rank among the most frequent and destructive natural hazards, threatening ecosystems, human settlements, and national economies. This study delineates flood-prone areas across Kosovo by developing a national-scale Flood Risk Database (FRDB) and a comprehensive mapping framework integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Eight hydrological and topographic conditioning factors—slope, elevation, flow accumulation, distance to rivers, land use/land cover, soil type, precipitation, and drainage density—were analyzed. AHP was employed to assign factor weights based on their relative influence on flood susceptibility, while MCDM aggregated these weighted spatial layers to generate a national flood risk map. Model validation, based on historical flood points, achieved an AUC of 0.909, confirming its high predictive accuracy. The resulting flood risk map classifies Kosovo’s territory into five risk levels: very high (0.56%), high (14.44%), moderate (36.68%), low (46.46%), and very low (1.88%). This research provides the first systematic national-scale FRDB for Kosovo, offering a reliable scientific basis for flood management, spatial planning, and climate resilience policy.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su18010359

Authors: Bashkim Idrizi, Agon Nimani, Lyubka Pashova

Institutions: University of Prishtina, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography

Language: English

Topic: Flood Risk Assessment and Management

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Sustainable cities and communities, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896