Flooding Causes in Rural Areas (Case study: Sarvabad County Villages)

Rapid physical growth of rural settlements on the periphery of the body and the valleys of the rivers have been causing widespread damage and several problems. Needed remedy is tangible to reduce the negative impacts of flood events based on scientific studies. The purpose of this study refers to manage flood crisis in rural areas and identify safe and in danger zones of rural settlements. Villages of Sarvabad county are selected as a case study. The six factors such as slope, aspect, vegetation, lithology, rainfall and distance from watercourse have been considered in this study. This study is based on analytical and the functional approach by using GIS (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to draw maps of secure and safe areas by evaluating considered factors. The results of this study, leaded to identify areas at risk of flooding in the rural areas, showed that 50% of the Sarvabad county area covered 39 villages of 77 villages and 48% of rural settlements located within the flood risk.