We are very pleased to share our latest research article, now published in Progress in Disaster Science (Elsevier): “GIS-based flood risk assessment in the Zhabay River Basin, Kazakhstan”
The study results from an international collaboration between researchers from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Almaty – Kazakhstan) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (Valencia – Spain).
The research develops an integrated GIS-based framework for flood-risk assessment in the Zhabay River Basin, a snow-fed catchment in Kazakhstan where severe spring floods have repeatedly affected Atbasar and surrounding settlements. The methodology combines:
· Flood hazard assessment
· Spatial vulnerability analysis
· GIS-based inundation scenario modelling
· AHP multi-criteria analysis
· Sentinel-2 satellite observations for independent validation
The results are particularly encouraging: validation against observed flood extents produced AUC values of 0.920, 0.820 and 0.906 for the 2017, 2019 and 2024 floods, respectively, confirming the strong predictive capability of the proposed approach.
One of the main contributions is the integration of hydrometeorological flood-triggering factors, territorial vulnerability, inundation scenarios and satellite-based verification within a single GIS framework.
This approach is especially relevant for data-scarce, snow-fed river basins and can support better flood-risk management, spatial planning and disaster-risk reduction.
Progress in Disaster Science, Volume 31 (2026), 100694
DOI: 10.1016/j.pdisas.2026.100694
Open Access and available online since 30 August 2026.
#Research #FloodRisk #Hydrology #GIS #RemoteSensing #DisasterRiskReduction #FloodManagement #Kazakhstan #EnvironmentalEngineering #UPV #IIAMA #InternationalCooperation #Science #OpenAccess
The LESLIE project is implemented by an international consortium under financial support of the Erasmus+ Programme established by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The consortium comprises The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), The University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (Unicas), University of Cyprus, Shokan Ualikhanov Kokshetau University (Ualikhanov University), Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU), Ahmet Yassawi University, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Fergana Polytechnic Institute, The Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME), Bukhara Institute of Natural Resources Management (TIIAME NRU), Bukhara State University, International Agriculture University, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan.