A GIS-Based Approach for Flood Risk Zoning by Combining Social Vulnerability and Flood Susceptibility: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

Yi Chen, Zhicong Ye, Hui Liu, Ruishan Chen, Zhenhuan Liu and Hui Liu
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Yi Chen: School of Architecture, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Zhicong Ye: School of Architecture, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Hui Liu: School of Government, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Ruishan Chen: School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Zhenhuan Liu: School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Hui Liu: School of Architecture, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: The identification of vulnerable people and places to flood is crucial for effective disaster risk management. Here, we combine flood hazard and social vulnerability index to capture the potential risk of flood. In this paper, Nanjing was taken as the case study to explore the spatial pattern of social vulnerability towards flood at the community scale by developing an index system. Based on the flood risk results of ArcSWAT, the risk of flood disaster in Nanjing was evaluated. The results show the following. (1) Social vulnerability exhibits a central–peripheral pattern in general, which means that the social vulnerability degree is high in the central city and decreases gradually to the suburbs. (2) The susceptibility to flood disaster has a similar circle-layer pattern that is the highest in the urban centre, lower in the exurban areas, and the lowest in the suburb areas. (3) By using the GIS-based zoning approach, communities are classified into four types by comprehensively considering their flood susceptibility and social vulnerability. The spatial pattern is explained, and policy recommendation for reducing flood risk is provided for each type of community. The research has important reference significance for identifying the spatial pattern of social vulnerability to flood and then formulating targeted adaptation countermeasures.

Keywords: social vulnerability; flood susceptibility; risk zoning; community; Nanjing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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