Building a flood trace database to strengthen early warning and urban resilience in Huế City, Vietnam
Solutions Brief
The ‘Solutions’ series shares practical and replicable local knowledge through our work across Vietnam on how to build resilience to climate hazards.
Summary
The project aims to improve community awareness, support impact-based early warning, and provide evidence for urban planning by systematically documenting flood depth at the community level. ISET-International (ISET) and the Huế City Division of Water Resources and Climate Change conducted flood trace surveys to record high-water marks from the October 2022 and November 2023 floods in Huế City. In addition, flood markers were installed at key public locations, serving as visible reminders of flood risk and reference points for community preparedness. The flood depth data and coordinates were integrated into the city’s GIS platform and analyzed alongside rainfall and river level information to understand changing flood patterns and their underlying drivers, as well as to estimate location-specific inundation depths to support impact-based forecasting and early warning. A standardized guidebook, developed based on lessons learned during this pilot phase, now supports future replication and institutionalization.
Funded by: The Z Zurich Foundation
The Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance is a multi-sectoral partnership focused on enhancing resilience to climate hazards in both rural and urban communities.