Zoning of flood risk as a contribution to prevention, in the port - Laguna de la Cocha- Colombia.

Abstract

In the planning and planning of the territory of flood-prone areas, risk management must be an integral part and the basis for decision-making, which harmonize prevention and well-being in the context of sustainable development. The present study allowed determining the zoning of the risk of flood disaster in the hamlet of the Port - Laguna de La Cocha, Colombia, in order to generate guidelines for land use planning. For this, an analysis of the historical behavior of the hydrological variable was carried out, a statistical distribution was adjusted and levels were estimated for different return periods adopted. These become levels to take them to topographic planes, and thus based on hydrological and geomorphological criteria, define different areas under threat. Based on the identification of infrastructure and critical facilities present in the area, vulnerability was assessed, and from the combination of threat and vulnerability zones, three flood risk zones were established: high, medium and low. Determined risk categories were generated measures of prevention and territorial planning, for high and medium risk areas with high probability of occurrence of floods, it is advisable to prohibit housing settlements, in these sectors potentially harmful effects may occur, given the exposure of people, infrastructure and critical facilities. For the low risk area, supported by the principle of prevention and sustainability, it is suggested to avoid being populated, and thus prevent increasing the degree of risk.