An Integrated Approach for Assessing Flood Risk in Historic City Centres

A new methodology for assessing flood risk in historic city centres, tested on the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Guimarães (Portugal), reveals that combining hazard and physical vulnerability data can identify high-risk buildings otherwise overlooked by traditional risk assessments. The study used hydrologic–hydraulic modelling to simulate a 100-year flood scenario, deriving hazard scores from flood extent, depth, and velocity. Vulnerability was evaluated based on field-collected data such as building orientation, heritage status, age, material, and condition. By integrating these components into a risk-matrix, the research demonstrated that both individual and crossed analyses provide complementary insights—highlighting critical risk factors while also uncovering previously unnoticed high-risk structures. This approach offers a more nuanced understanding of flood risk in vulnerable urban areas.

Ferreira, T. M., & Santos, P. P. (2020). An Integrated Approach for Assessing Flood Risk in Historic City Centres. Water, 12(6), 1648. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061648