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Flooding in Sebeya catchment, Rwanda - A review of causes, impacts, and management

Hahirwabasenga, Joseph LU ; Nilsson, Erik LU ; Larson, Magnus LU ; Bizimana, Hussein ; Wali, Umaru Garba LU and Persson, Magnus LU (2024) In International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 114.
Abstract

Flooding is one of the natural hazards that pose the most serious threat to human societies in Rwanda, particularly in the Sebeya catchment located in the northwestern part of the country. The main aims of this study are to identify the current flooding issues in the Sebeya catchment in Rwanda and to propose recommendations for improved flood risk management (FRM). The methodology employed encompasses extensive reviews and subsequent analysis of (1) the causes and effects of recent floods, (2) the current flood management framework, (3) previous relevant research, (4) data availability, and (5) opportunities for improvement of the management strategy. A wide range of information was collected from published papers, reports, government... (More)

Flooding is one of the natural hazards that pose the most serious threat to human societies in Rwanda, particularly in the Sebeya catchment located in the northwestern part of the country. The main aims of this study are to identify the current flooding issues in the Sebeya catchment in Rwanda and to propose recommendations for improved flood risk management (FRM). The methodology employed encompasses extensive reviews and subsequent analysis of (1) the causes and effects of recent floods, (2) the current flood management framework, (3) previous relevant research, (4) data availability, and (5) opportunities for improvement of the management strategy. A wide range of information was collected from published papers, reports, government publications, and policies. Field observations were also conducted to assess the geographical and hydrological characteristics of the Sebeya catchment. The results show that there is limited knowledge on the impacts of floods in the catchment and that both the availability and quality of data are challenging in carrying out FRM. Therefore, more research on the major drivers and impacts of floods in the Sebeya catchment is required. It is also recommended to increase the number of rainfall and stream gauging stations to facilitate further studies on the hydrological characteristics of the floods and to provide data for modeling efforts. Apart from the Sebeya catchment and Rwanda in general, the methods and results in this study are particularly relevant for FRM in nearby countries facing similar flood conditions, such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Data availability, Flood drivers, Flood impact, Flood risk management, Rwanda, Sebeya catchment
in
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
volume
114
article number
105012
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85210123755
ISSN
2212-4209
DOI
10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.105012
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
id
6d0e83fe-4f28-49b8-bf54-9d451cb27f1b
date added to LUP
2025-01-14 15:00:17
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:20:52
@article{6d0e83fe-4f28-49b8-bf54-9d451cb27f1b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Flooding is one of the natural hazards that pose the most serious threat to human societies in Rwanda, particularly in the Sebeya catchment located in the northwestern part of the country. The main aims of this study are to identify the current flooding issues in the Sebeya catchment in Rwanda and to propose recommendations for improved flood risk management (FRM). The methodology employed encompasses extensive reviews and subsequent analysis of (1) the causes and effects of recent floods, (2) the current flood management framework, (3) previous relevant research, (4) data availability, and (5) opportunities for improvement of the management strategy. A wide range of information was collected from published papers, reports, government publications, and policies. Field observations were also conducted to assess the geographical and hydrological characteristics of the Sebeya catchment. The results show that there is limited knowledge on the impacts of floods in the catchment and that both the availability and quality of data are challenging in carrying out FRM. Therefore, more research on the major drivers and impacts of floods in the Sebeya catchment is required. It is also recommended to increase the number of rainfall and stream gauging stations to facilitate further studies on the hydrological characteristics of the floods and to provide data for modeling efforts. Apart from the Sebeya catchment and Rwanda in general, the methods and results in this study are particularly relevant for FRM in nearby countries facing similar flood conditions, such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hahirwabasenga, Joseph and Nilsson, Erik and Larson, Magnus and Bizimana, Hussein and Wali, Umaru Garba and Persson, Magnus}},
  issn         = {{2212-4209}},
  keywords     = {{Data availability; Flood drivers; Flood impact; Flood risk management; Rwanda; Sebeya catchment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}},
  title        = {{Flooding in Sebeya catchment, Rwanda - A review of causes, impacts, and management}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.105012}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.105012}},
  volume       = {{114}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}