INTRODUCTION

Overview

The world faces environmental threats ranging from earthquakes in Indonesia to droughts in Ethiopia to
floods in India. Although, flood forms part of supplying lands with a source of water, its detrimental
consequences outshadow the positive aspects. Just in 2018, 225 people lost their lives to flood in Japan
and the property damages reached an estimate of 4 billion US $ (Van der List, 2018). Without a doubt,
the necessity of solutions to these catastrophic natural disasters are absolutely crucial. Mauritius is among
those facing the challenge of flooding. Being a tropical island, Mauritius confronts continual cyclones and
torrential rainfalls that are major causes of flood occurrences. Another cause is the growth of human
activities altering the lands.
In 2013, numerous parts of Mauritius were ravaged and the consequences were devastating; eleven lives
were lost. Thus, the need of planning forward, flood forecasting, risk awareness, flood emergency
response and investigating what caused past flood events is of paramount importance. Flood forecasting
being part of the solution requires in depth understanding, systematic coordination and planning. Flood
map has proven itself to be an effective way of showing potential impacts of flood and to yield flood
information, including flood hazard and risk information.
Initiatives such as Disaster Risk Reduction flood studies covering the entire island in 2012, Mauritius
Research Council developing sophisticated prediction model in 2018 and installation of sensors to
indicate the real time water levels at le Pouce have recognised the dire need for the reduction of flood
impacts. Combination of hydrological and hydraulic models allow for recreation of past flood events, the
evaluation of the potential impacts including the identification of flood prone areas and providing
possible design solutions and improvements (CivilTech, 2017).

Problem Statement

It is no secret that flood is one of the most disastrous natural disasters which is a challenge to overcome.
Flood map is a vital part of flood risk management. The latter is prevalent in developing countries and has
already been implemented for several years. On the other hand, in Mauritius flood mapping is virtually
unchartered territory even though flood is the second most reoccurring local natural disaster. Some of the
haunting flood cases occurred in 2008 resulting in deaths of four people, also in March 2013 causing the
death of eleven people and displacement of 300 people in 2016. Between 1991 to 2014, UNISDR (2016)
has reported a 26.2% mortality rate due to floods. Over the years, numerous flood prone areas have been
identified.
In an effort to analyse and reduce the impacts of flooding, flood maps have to be implemented for the
whole country. The slopes found throughout Nouvelle France exposes the area to the accumulation of
water. For that reason, this study assesses the most vulnerable areas in Nouvelle France and endeavors to
create a flood hazard and a flood risk map using ArcGIS. Flood maps are non-structural solutions to flood
and also are captivating solutions due to its sustainability nature.

Research Justification

This research is vital in the sense that it provides exact locations of flood prone areas and also points out
the safe zones in the event of a precipitation event as well as directs attention to the origins of flooding in
Nouvelle France village. Accordingly, emergency services may plan ahead emergency routes. In addition,
for the development of new infrastructures, a person can choose a preferably safer location based on the
flood risk map. The use of flood map can become a common practice as it is in fact a sustainable
approach and is handy for anyone. The outcomes of this study can be applied as input data for the design
of structural measures to lessen the damages of floods. Recent years have shown that our island is highly
susceptible to climate change and therefore, it is high time for Mauritians to show flexibility in
implementing flood management on a large scale.