Application Of Geographic Information Systems Towards Flood Management In Shkodër, Albania

The aim of this paper is to show the advantages of GIS in monitoring and improving flood response management in Albania. A full statistic overview of the last flooding occured in the region of Shkodra will be presented. The delicate area balances as far as water management is concerned, have turned into repetitive problematic that have become endemic to the region. The flooding in 2010 and 2011 due to heavy rain, snow melting and hydropower management caused a strong impact in the socio-economic life of the population. According to the last statistics, numbers referring to population displacement, house inundation, property damages seems to be a growing concern for the State Emergency Service. This scenario involves the role of the government institutions in both planning and the operational contexts. Uncoordinated measures between emergency groups, delayed actions from the hydropower specialists, the lack of updated geoinformation followed by a limited remote control occur due to a continuous distant approach created toward GIS technology in our country. As a solution to this scenario it will be presented a concrete platform based on calculations and statistics of dam capacity, allowed water levels, maximum rainfall levels, climate factors, population density and movements. GIS carries the potential for flood plain management, flood mapping and forecasting, also population education and awareness. Geospatial information and remote sensing utilization serves as bridge between flooding security measures and damage evaluation. Integration of the population distribution model toward flooding classification which aims the developing of an index mapping is the first step to be initiated. In our case it is important to denote that the usage of GIS utilities is more effective in the pre-flood than the post-flood phase.