GIS ‐ AHP ‐Based Spatial Analysis of Flood Susceptibility: A Case Study of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Floods rank among the world's most deadly hazards and have a huge impact on people's livelihoods. An essential part of proper land‐use planning for flood‐prone areas is the mapping of flood hazards and the suitability study of flood shelters. Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Pakistan, floods of 2022 severely damaged the city's economy, infrastructure, property, and human life. Urban areas in DI Khan, Pakistan, are now more susceptible to flood catastrophes due to the region's growing urbanization and shifting climatic trends. A precise evaluation of flood risk is essential for efficient flood hazard management and urban development. This research work focuses on using GIS and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to map flood susceptibility in DI Khan, Pakistan, using rainfall records from 2010 to 2022 together with DEM, Sentinel‐2, soil, and meteorological datasets. Topographic wetness index, slope, land use/land cover, elevation, NDVI, stream distance, precipitation, soil type, and curvature were the flood‐influencing elements considered in this study. Using AHP, weights and ranks were assigned to each factor independently, and they were then analyzed in a GIS to generate a flood risk assessment map. The results identified four major flood risk zones within the study area: very high (22.3%), high (63.81%), moderate (10.2%), and very low (3.69%). Previous floods in the research area provided additional validation for the model. The current model is dependable because approximately 90% of previous flood hazard events occurred mostly in high and very high zones of the model. Overall, the comprehensive flood risk assessment map developed in this study can support disaster management and urban planning by identifying high‐risk areas and guiding the prioritization of mitigation strategies.