Geo-spatial analysis of built-environment exposure to flooding: Iowa case study

Flooding is the most frequent type of natural disaster, inducing devastating damage at large and small spatial scales. Flood exposure analysis is a critical part of flood risk assessment. While most studies analyze the exposure elements separately, it is crucial to perform a multi-parameter exposure analysis and consider different types of flood zones to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact and make informed mitigation decisions. This research analyzes the population, properties, and road networks potentially exposed to the 100, 200, and 500-year flood events at the county level in the State of Iowa using geospatial analytics. We also propose a flood exposure index at the county level using fuzzy overlay analysis to help find the most impacted county. During flooding, results indicate that the county-level percentage of displaced population, impacted properties, and road length can reach up to 46