Abstract

VARON GUTIERREZ, Sandra Dudei  and  VARGAS CUERVO, Germán. Analysis of Susceptibility to Flooding Associated with the Dynamics of the Guatiquia River in Villavicencio, Colombia. Cuad. Geogr. Rev. Colomb. Geogr. [online]. 2019, vol.28, n.1, pp.152-174. ISSN 0121-215X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcdg.v28n1.70856.

Given their sedimentological, hydrological, and hydraulic characteristics, tropical piedmont rivers create braided courses interwoven with numerous channels that vary in quantity and size in a main riverbed, depending on climatic conditions. This article presents an analysis of the morphodynamical behaviour of a tropical piedmont river in Colombia (the Guatiquía river), as the basis for the evaluation of the susceptibility to flooding of a riverside city (Villavicencio). The study was carried out by (i) analysing historical information consulted in technical reports produced by the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), the Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute (IGAC), and the Colombian Geological Service; (ii) studying hydrological series; (iii) processing and interpreting aerial photographs and multispectral satellite images over a period of 78 years; as well as (iv) by producing the geological and geomorphological cartography with fieldwork controls and support. Thus, it was possible to determine, on the one hand, the dynamic behaviour of the braided courses within the boundaries of the main riverbed of the river system, and, on the other hand, the susceptibility to flooding of the city of Villavicencio, with 64.7 ha in the medium-high category and 17.9 ha in the high category.

Keywords : river dynamics; geomorphology; flooding; susceptibility; Villavicencio.

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