Spatial Analysis of Dry Valley Floods in Salah Al-Din Governorate and Ramadan Valley

Flash floods are considered to be one the worst kind of hazard. They are characterized by their suddenness, rarity, small scale, heavy rain and peak discharge, unpredictable, fast and violent movement. It has severe effects on human society in the form life losses, damages to property, roads, communication and on natural settings. Advances in hydrology, meteorology, engineering, using of GIS and remote sensing still not able to increase real time forecast. Researchers from developed countries have stressed to more focus to improve very short time an effective early warning system with collaboration of local communities for flash flood risk supervision. The data were combined with the Geographical Information System to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution of flood events in Salah Al-Din Governorate and Ramadan Valley. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the floods proves that most of the occurrences are recorded in the southern part of the study area. Most of the flooded areas in the study area are mainly pre-classified areas within the areas threatened by the flood due to the low level of its surface and its proximity to the course of the main valley (Wadi Jarnav), which flows into the Tigris River. The proposed method estimates the localization of sites prone to flood, and it may be used for flood hazard assessment mapping and for flood risk management. It was therefore, suggested that government agencies and policy makers should adopt this powerful technique for reliable and well synthesized information which is a vital component of flood risk assessment and planning.