| dc.description.abstract | Floods constitute one of the most damaging natural hazards in the world. Seasonal and extraordinary rainfall
recurrently trigger different types of floods in Costa Rica. An integrated and efficient flood risk management
requires comprehensive understanding on the flood driving variables. This study analyzes and classifies the 82
Costa Rican municipalities in terms of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability to floods. Then, an index for flood risk
is designed to comprehend the risk driver’s role (hazard, exposure, and vulnerability) at a local level. The present
method provides a flood risk index on a municipal scale done through a statistical validation of different sources
of municipal-level data. Higher flood risk values mostly occur in municipalities located in extensive flatlands,
medium to large areas in both the Pacific and Caribbean basins, as well as borderlands and coastal regions. The
results can promote flood risk assessment plans in developing countries or regions where baseline information is
limited. This approach has been absent in most of the national flood risk policies, specifically the plans analyzing
the likelihood of short, mid, and long-term decline of risk conditions influencing flood disasters | |
