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.
Highlights
Flood disasters are expected to become more common and devastating than before in the most densely inhabited urban areas [1]
The findings reveal that social vulnerability to floods in Nanjing follows a central–peripheral pattern
Nanjing is located in low mountains, hills, and plains, which causes low-lying areas in the urban centre to be prone to waterlogging [16]
Summary
Flood disasters are expected to become more common and devastating than before in the most densely inhabited urban areas [1]. Flood susceptibility has increased in built-up areas as a result of rising population and asset consolidation [2]. Solutions for adapting to urban floods must be developed, for those who are most susceptible in flood-prone areas. The most frequent technique used for coping with the potential consequences of flooding disasters is flood risk management. Flood risk assessments have considered physical vulnerability but have mainly overlooked social vulnerability [3,4]. To estimate the danger of urban flooding, these areas can be integrated with social vulnerability and flood susceptibility to reflect the potential risk
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