Inundações no município de Petit-Goâve (caso de La Digue): abordagem hidrogeomorfológica

Abstract

Haiti, one of the Caribbean countries, has a mountainous terrain with a geology strongly influenced by volcanic activity, often plagued by natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. Petit-Goâve is one of the cities susceptible to flooding during each rainy season. This study was conducted in the watershed of the La Digue River, the main river in the municipality, with the aim of elucidating the hydrogeomorphological aspects that condition susceptibility to floods in the basin. To do so, fundamental aspects of the hydrogeomorphology of the terrain were presented based on bibliographic research, interpretation of a digital terrain model (DTM), satellite imagery, and morphometric analysis. In addition, hydrological analyses were carried out based on mathematical models that addressed the lack of primary data. Among the results, an atlas of the physical characteristics of the study area is presented to support future investigations, as well as longitudinal and transverse profiles that highlight important knickpoints. A set of morphometric and hydrological data are provided to aid in understanding how the river system responds to high volumes of rainfall during hurricane periods, which in turn leads to the overflow of the main channel in the lower course of the La Digue River. Therefore, this work provides a brief history of floods and also describes the levels of flood susceptibility in the city of Petit-Goâve. In conclusion, strategies for flood risk management in the municipality of Petit-Goâve are outlined, based on a systemic and participatory approach, foreseeing operational political-administrative decisions and activities involving various sociopolitical actors to mitigate the effects of this phenomenon on the community.