The assessment of damage caused by floods in the Brazilian context

Abstract

The present paper describes theoretical aspects and the main results on the development of a methodology for the global evaluation of direct damage caused by floods. This methodology is based on the use of standard flood damage curves versus depth of inundation on dwelling, commerce and service sectors. The research was developed based on field surveys in the city of Itajubá, located in the valley of the Sapucaí River, in Minas Gerais state in the southeast region of Brazil. In January 2000, this city suffered severe floods where more of 70% of the urban area was affected; with depths of inundation higher than 3 m in certain areas. The empirical data were obtained through questionnaires applied in the ravaged area in 2002. The questionnaires allowed the characterization of the dwellings and their content, as well as the different categories on commercial and service activities. The generic curves obtained from the data in the survey were used at the same site to evaluate the amount of potential flood damage in relation to different hydrologic risks.

Keywords:

• Flood damage
• Depth of inundation curves versus damage
• Damage evaluation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express thanks to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), to the Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas (IGAM), and to the Fundação de Ampara à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, for their financial support to this research. They also thank the Civil Defence Itajubá, and to Federal Universities of Minas Gerais and Itabubá UFMG undergraduate and graduate students who contributed to the Itajubá survey.