Spatial planning in floodplains in mountain catchments of different order, in the basin of the upper Vistula and the upper and central Odra Rivers

Floods in Poland represent one of the major natural disasters responsible for most of the damage. These losses are largely related to improper floodplains management and inadequate spatial planning in these areas. Establishing limits of possibly flooded areas in planning documents depends a lot on the size of the river catchment. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify difficulties in floodplain zoning in the catchment areas of different scale. An attempt was made to assess conformity of floodplains limits established in official documents with real extent of floodwaters observed during recent flood events of different types (flash mountain floods or slow lowlands floods). It was analysed as well what use is proposed in spatial planning documents for these earlier flooded areas and whether there are any restrictions imposed upon them. The study was conducted in eight villages and towns located in river catchments representing different sizes from the basin of the upper Vistula and the upper and central Odra Rivers. Catchments areas were selected also according the degree of their urbanization and the type of flood occurring there. The study areas with streams and rivers given in the brackets were: Makow Podhalanski (Księży Potok), Zawoja (Rybny Potok), Bogatynia (Miedzianka), Kasinka Mała (Kasinianka) Ołdrzychowice Kłodzkie (Biała Lądecka), Budzów (Paleczka), Tuchów (Biała Dunajcowa) and Krosnowice (Nysa Kłodzka).