Flood-Risk Area Assessment of Lasang River in

Davao City through Geographic Information System

(GIS) Integration and Analytic Hierarchy Process
(AHP) Framework

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strong typhoons and rains, and major floods. To diminish the

Abstract— 1 to 3 sentences for introduction. 1 to 2 sentences damages caused by floods, several approaches have been
for the objectives. 1 to 2 sentences for the methods being used. 1 to applied in flood-prone area assessment. Several studies have
2 sentences for the findings of the study. 1 to 2 sentences for the also conducted on the assessment and analysis of areas which
conclusions.
are prone to floods. In the modern age, different systems and
software are used in order to show representations of places that
Keywords—GIS, flood, risk, multi-criteria, AHP
are vulnerable and prone to floods. Such systems include
I. INTRODUCTION Geographical Information System (GIS), Hydrologic
Engineering Center-River Analysis System, Remote Sensing
Flood has been a part of human existence up until the present
(RS), etc. Assessing the flood risk of areas is a widely
time, and along with this, swelling of rivers and flood events
conducted study and applied on several strategies and modeling
have taken a heavy toll on properties and lives and caused more
techniques. This is categorized into three ways: (1)
economic losses than any other hazard. The natural disaster
hydrological modelling such as SWAT [3], HEC-RAS [4] with
occurs when a large amount of water overflows into an area that
digital terrain model (DTM) generation and vertical uncertainty
is normally dry, causing the land to become submerged.
assessment [5]; (2) numerical or quantitative approaches such
Flooding can be caused by a multitude of sources, such as
as frequency ratio [6], logistic regression [6], weights-of-
intense rainfall or a storm surge from a tsunami in coastal
evidence [6], genetic algorithm [7], differential evolution [7]
locations. Floods have also caused more damage to
and analytic hierarchy process [1, 8] and (3) non-linear machine
infrastructure than any other natural disaster. River flooding
learning algorithms such as decision tree [9], artificial neural
represents the most common global hazard causing
network [10], support vector machine [11] and random forest
phenomenal losses [1]. In Asia alone, countries much affected
[12].
by floods like India, China, the Philippines, Iran, Bangladesh,
and Nepal are extremely vulnerable. Man has been concerned
AHP and geographic information systems (GIS) integration
about the severe floods and their impact on the people and the
in flood risk assessment can provide useful and detailed
community. In terms of loss of life, property, relocation of
information for flood risk management [13]. The Analytic
people, and disruption of socio-economic activity, as well as
Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a methodical strategy that was
the loss of important agricultural land in flood plains due to
established in the 1970s to provide decision-making that is
heavy rainfall and dam collapses, the danger and harm caused
founded on experience, intuition, and heuristics that are drawn
by flooding cannot be overstated [2].
from solid mathematical concepts [8]. It helps shape the
concepts of the one making the decision, and it can help
The above-mentioned information also indicates that
organize the problem in a way that is easy to follow and analyze.
majority of flood disasters’ victims are people from developing
The AHP, in its most fundamental form, is a tool that facilitates
countries who suffer much destruction of many lives and
the structure of the complexity, measurement, and synthesis of
properties, including the major urban centers and settlements,
ranks [8]. Therefore, these features make it suitable for a wide
prime agricultural lands, major aquaculture systems, and many
variety of applications, including alternative selection, resource
others. Occurrence of strong typhoons and other weather
allocation, forecasting, business process re-engineering, quality
disturbances are also major consequences of creating
function development, benchmarking, public policy decisions,
devastating flash floods, and Philippines, as an archipelagic and
healthcare, hazard mapping, risk analysis and many more [8].
maritime nation, is a recipient of many typhoons. Depending
When evaluating potential flood risk areas, it is necessary to
on the year-round monsoons, the intensity and magnitude of
integrate the Geographical Information System (GIS) with
floods and rains vary from region to region. Threat of a
Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to obtain the most
changing climatic pattern is another major concern that will
accurate results (MCDA). Flooding occurs in the watershed as
contribute erratic rainfall patterns, possible occurrence of
a result of a combination of factors that include annual rainfall,

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basin slope, drainage network, and soil type, among others. A GIS-based process for the spatial assessment of flood risk will
graphical representation was created based on the results of the be conducted. There has been limited study on the flood-risk
spatial multi-criteria analysis to show which potential locations assessment of Lasang river in the city at a barangay level which
should be prioritized and which should not. In order to should be further discovered.
determine the weights for each criterion, it was necessary to use
the results of the analytical hierarchy process method. The The main objective of the study is to perform a flood-risk
priority weights for each criterion were then determined by area assessment and mapping of Davao City using GIS
combining the weights for each criterion determined using the integration and AHP framework. Specifically, this study aims
analytical hierarchy process method with the weights for each to: (1) To perform flood-risk area assessment of Davao City
criterion determined using the decision tree method. The main using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework with
objective of the related study was to identify flood-prone risk the multi-criteria indicators; (2) Identify flood hazard and
areas by mapping them based on the integration of multiple vulnerability level of the barangays in Davao City; (3) To
indicators, including rainfall, slope, elevation, drainage density, obtain flood-risk maps using the Geographic Information
soil type, distance to the main channel and population density. System (GIS).
For this purpose, a GIS-based flood risk spatial assessment was
conducted by using analytic hierarchy process (AHP), weights The results of this study will determine the flood-risk areas
by rank (WR) and ratio weighting (RW) frameworks to along river flood plain. This study aims to help the following:
determine the relative importance of each indicator against (1) The Community - people are more aware of flood-risk areas,
another in the province of Davao Oriental. The resulting flood- which helps to reduce flood-related death and property loss; (2)
prone areas by the three methods are validated by comparing The Local Government Unit - this study will benefit the local
with the estimated flood map based on ground truthing points government since it will allow them to use the findings to make
from a field survey. The comparison results show that AHP is decisions and plan for disaster risk reduction in the Davao river.
the most appropriate method among them to assess flood In addition, in flood-prone areas, a local flood early warning
hazard [8]. system should be established to reduce harm to people and
property; (3) The Researcher - the benchmark data gathered in
The Philippines' largest city, Davao, covers 2,444 sq.km. It this study could be used as a starting point for future research
has 3 congressional districts and 11 administrative districts. studies.
Congressional District II includes Agdao, Buhangin, Bunawan,
and Paquibato, while District I includes Poblacion and Talomo. The study is limited on the flood-risk area assessment in
District III contains Toril, Tugbok, Calinan, Baguio, and Lasang River in Davao City with the aid of Geographic
Marilog. Davao City is in the grid squares of 6°58′ to 7°34′ N Information System (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process
latitude and 125°14′ to 125°40′ E longitude in southeastern (AHP) framework with the multi-criteria indicators. Lasang
Mindanao. It borders Agusan del Sur Province on the north, River will be the major river watershed under study since
Davao del Norte and Davao Gulf on the east, Davao Sur on the supplementary data are needed by the Department of Natural
south, and Bukidnon, North and South Cotabato, and Sarangani Resources (DENR). The factors or variables to be used are
on the west. Davao City Proper is 588 statute miles southeast rainfall, slope, elevation, drainage density, soil type, distance to
of Manila, 946 aerial kilometers away [14]. Davao City is main channel, population density and structural materials.
frequently ravaged by natural disasters especially floods.
Typhoons often bring heavy rainfall resulting in flash floods.
However, various anthropogenic perturbations in the area have
compounded the adverse impacts of flooding. This is due to the
sprawling urbanization, increased areas utilized for human
settlements, industrial and commercial production of goods and
services. As a result, massive and continuous erosion keeps on
occurring. One of the most common and strongest typhoon that
hit the city is Typhoon Bopha in 2012 which cost a lot of lives
and property casualties [15, 16, 17]. One of the rivers in the city
can be affected by heavy typhoons and heavy rainfall. Lasang
River is next to Maduao River and is located in Province of
Davao del Norte, Davao, Philippines. Lasang River has a length
of 19.44 kilometres [18, 19, 20]. With the mentioned
information, the goal of this research is to identify flood-risk
areas and map them using a variety of factors relevant to the
study area. Using the concepts of the analytic hierarchy process
(AHP) framework with multi-criteria indicators such as
rainfall, slope, elevation, drainage density, soil type, distance to
the main channel, population density and structural materials, a
 II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Conceptual Framework C. Methods and Procedures

Research Design
INPUT
1. Rainfall Data
The study will utilize both quantitative and qualitative
2. Slope
PROCESS research design. Quantitative data include the use of AHP
3. Elevation
1. Analytical OUTPUT approach in order to obtain the relative weights of rainfall,
4. Drainage
Density
Hierarchy 1. Flood Hazard slope, elevation, drainage density, soil type, and distance to
Process (AHP) Map main channel. Qualitative data include the utilization of GIS
5. Soil Type 2. Mapping of
6. Distance to
2. Flood supplementary resources in order to obtain flood hazard, flood
Indicators using Vulnerability
Main Channel Quantum Map
vulnerability and flood risk area maps of Lasang River in
7. Population Geographical Davao City.
Information 3. Flood Risk
Density Map
System (QGIS)
8. Structural version 3.18.1 Data Gathering Procedure
Materials

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study. The

input of the framework includes the variables under study
namely: rainfall data, slope, elevation, drainage density, soil
type, distance to main channel, population density, and
structural materials.

The process in the study involves the use of the analytical

hierarchy process (AHP) for the determination of weights
relative to the importance of each indicator. Then, mapping will
be conducted with the aid of Quantum Geographical
Information System (QGIS) version 3.18.1.
The output of the study includes the mapping of the
indicators such as flood hazard map, flood vulnerability map
and flood risk map.
B. Materials and Resources
Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) 3.18.1
The study will utilize the QGIS to obtain the datasets of the
study which include slope, elevation, drainage density and
distance to main channels. Furthermore, collected database
such as rainfall observation will be obtained from the CHRS
Data Portal in the year 2012 where the strongest Typhoon
Bopha hit and the largest amount of rainfall was recorded.
Figure 2. Process Flow Chart of the Study
All needed information and datasets will be gathered from
agencies and portal websites. A flowchart is shown in Figure 2
for the flood-risk assessment and mapping.
The administrative boundaries of Davao City include
barangay boundaries. The administrative boundaries include
182 barangays of the locale. The administrative boundaries
were provided as geographical information system (GIS) data
from the global administrative areas and Philippine GIS
organization.
The observed rainfall data was obtained in CHRS Data
Portal. The annual precipitation was based on year 2012. The
satellite data will be transferred to QGIS using grid to points
and Idw Interpolation in order to obtain a classified map for
rainfall.

Survey Questionnaire The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and

Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model
Moreover, a survey instrument will be distributed to ten (10) (ASTER GDEM) is one of the most widely used DEM datasets.
disaster risk personnel and city engineers to rate the relative ASTER GDEM has been applied in many fields, such as soil
importance of the six flood hazard indicators such as rainfall, erosion, topography, geomorphology and hydrology. ASTER
slope, elevation, drainage density, soil type, and distance to GDEM is also commonly used to extract drainage networks,
main channel. The instrument will be constructed based from flow accumulations and directions, basin boundaries,
Saaty scale. watershed boundaries, slopes, and elevations for flood risk
maps. This study will obtain ASTER GDEM for elevation,
slope, distance to the main channel and drainage density.
The soil type in Davao City will be gathered from the
Department of Agriculture in the locale. Shape files will be
obtained from the agency.
A total of six indicators will be used for AHP assessment.
This involves the definition of the relative importance weights
to be used for the flood hazard mapping. The AHP assessment
will be done by distributing a questionnaire to a set of ten
experts in the field of disaster risk management and engineering.
They will be asked to rate each factor according to their relative
importance using Saaty scale. Their ratings will be assessed
using Microsoft excel and tabulated. The pairwise comparison helped you in your study, keep this section short only, at most
matrix will be tabulated then normalized. The weights or 1 paragraph will do.
priority vectors (PV), consistency index (CI) measure, and
consistency ratio will be calculated. Flood hazard mapping will
be then classified in QGIS.
The population density will be obtained from the Davao
City Hall for the 2021 census of each barangay. The structural
materials types will be obtained from Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). These data will be
used for the preparation and mapping of flood vulnerability
map.
The mapping software to be used is QGIS. These GIS data
are in decimal degrees and have a WGS84 datum. The data will
then be projected to the UTM coordinate system zone 51 N.
Assessment and mapping were done and recommendations will
be made based on the results.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Discussion of Result for Objective 1 [Choose or insert
appropriate subtitle]
Discuss the results and findings of objective 1 through tables
or figures or statistical analysis of data or narrative statements.
Strictly follow the IEEE guidelines on how to present tables or
figures.
B. Discussion of Result for Objective 2 [Choose or insert
appropriate subtitle]
Discuss the results and findings of objective 2 through tables
or figures or statistical analysis of data. Strictly follow the IEEE
guidelines on how to present tables or figures.
C. Discussion of Result for Objective 3 [Choose or insert
appropriate subtitle]
Discuss the results and findings of objective 3 through tables
or figures or statistical analysis of data. Strictly follow the IEEE
guidelines on how to present tables or figures.
Note: You may add more subtitles depending on the
discussions you want to present. You may use the format shown
above or you may discuss the results per objective per
paragraph arranged accordingly. Delete this part when
submitting final paper.
IV. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORKS
1st paragraph for conclusions.
2nd paragraph for future works or recommendations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This part is optional. If you wish to acknowledge those who
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[2 "mindat.org," 2022. [Online]. Available:
0] https://www.mindat.org/feature-1707202.html. [Accessed 7.1Scanned Duly Signed Assignment
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