| In the last 5 years in France, we have observed that each new flood event
exposes the weaknesses of the existing prevention system as well as the
local weakness. Such events raise questions about the relevance and the
effectiveness of the means of prevention. But these events also reveal
resistance of the exposed territories, which shows that effective and
adequate local strategies exist. There are various methods to evaluate the
weakness, or vulnerability of an area, but since the last ten years the
qualitative approach of vulnerability in flood risks became more important.
Nevertheless, local authorities are often unable to evaluate the
vulnerabilities of their territory. Local decision makers request tools for
a better assessment of flooding vulnerability. Thus, many approaches of the
weakness and the resistance of frequently flooded territories were developed
on various scales. These approaches are often partial and contextual. There
is a clear need for a support of the evaluation of vulnerability. However,
there are obvious synergies between these different approaches, with regard
to data retrieval and the establishment of adequate information systems
taking into account the vulnerability of a specific territory.
The paper develops a methodology aimed to organize into a software tool the
choice of vulnerability indicators and the integration of the point of view
of various stakeholders (economists, town planners, experts, political
leaders, etc). This challenge is based on three simple statements: break
down of the problems of vulnerability into homogeneous subsets and manage
them; articulation of these subsets in a graphical interface allowing the
presentation of interactions between the indicators of vulnerability and
compare the opposed visions of vulnerability.
The interface of the tool integrates various vulnerability indicators, which
are organised in several categories, in order to allow a flexible and
efficient vulnerability analysis. |