Abstract
Flood hazards affect the local economy and the livelihood of residents along the South-Central Coast of Vietnam. Understanding the factors influencing floods’ occurrence potentially contributes to establish mitigation responses to the hazards. This paper deals with an empirical study on applying a combination of the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and a geographic information system (GIS) to assess flood hazards along the South-Central Coast of Vietnam. Data are collected from focus group discussions (FGDs) with five communal authorities; a questionnaire completed by eight hamlet heads in the Phuoc Thang commune (Binh Dinh province); and documents, reports, and thematic maps provided from official sources. A total of 12 maps of flood factors are prepared. The results show that terrain elevation, creek-bottom terrains, high tide-induced flooding area, and distance to water body are the main factors affecting flood hazards. The An Loi hamlet faces the highest risk for floods, followed by Lac Dien, Luong Binh, and Pho Dong. The map of flood hazards indicates the western part is assessed as low hazard, whereas the eastern part is a very high hazard area. The study findings show that the hybrid approach using GIS-based fuzzy AHP–TOPSIS allows connecting decision makers with the influencing factors of flooding. To mitigate floods, both the Vietnam national government and the Binh Dinh provincial government should integrate natural hazard mitigation into socio-economic development policies.
Highlights
Flood hazards are primary hazards associated with exposure to water [1]
This study develops a hybrid approach using a combination of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP), fuzzy TOPSIS, and Geographic Information System (GIS) to assess flood hazards along the South-Central Coast of Vietnam based on both natural and anthropogenic factors
The selected area of Phuoc Thang is a coastal commune of the Tuy Phuoc district (Binh Dinh province, South-Central Coast of Vietnam), which consists of eight hamlets (Khuong Binh, Pho Dong, Duong Thanh, Luong Binh, Tu Cung, An Loi, Lac Dien, and Thanh Quang)
Summary
Flood hazards are primary hazards associated with exposure to water [1]. Flooding areas have water logging or soil erosion [2]. Storms and climate change increase flood hazards [3]. Sci. 2020, 10, 7142 of flooding are often severe and directly impact human life by the interruption of services and the destruction of infrastructure and health as a result of famine and disease [2]. Worldwide, flooding is currently responsible for economic loss: it is one of the most expensive natural hazards in the Americas, Europe, and Asia [4,5,6,7]. Mitigating the hazardous effects and managing comprehensive flood risks has become increasingly imperative [5,6,7,8]
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