Development of flood defense alternaives for the beach of Deir El Balah Camp, Palestine

Abstract EN

The development along the coastal zone has led to the host of problems such as erosion, siltation, flooding, loss of coastal resources and the destruction of the fragile marine habitats.

The erosion threatens the coastal zone, which affects people's economic, tourist, and recreational life.

The main reason of the erosion is due to Khan Younis breakwater and the sea waves working on empty the beachy sand, thereby flooding and scouring the area as it ebbs and removing part of the unconsolidated sand.

This study uses Geographic Information System to detect changes in the coastline along Deir El Balah coast during the 1972–2020 period.

Shoreline change rates in the form of erosion and accretion patterns are quantified.

In addition, four alternatives are proposed to to mitigate the current problems raised by repeated flooding and erosion through reefballs, cubes, geotubes and seawalls and analyze their impacts on coastal protection to provide the best possible mitigations in environmental, economical and engineering terms.

Multi criteria analysis is used to assess the alternatives with respect to criteria that capture the key dimensions of the selection process.

Multi criteria have been selected and addressed the most important factors when planning, designing, financing, and implementing coastal protection measures.

Based on the analysis, the best alternative of three-row reefballs submerged breakwaters is recommended.