An innovative methodology to assess the vulnerability of earthquake-prone heritage buildings to climate-induced floods in New Zealand

Climate change causes major effects on the environment and nature as it leads to increasing urban flood hazards. Flooding is the most frequent natural hazard that occurs in the Asia–Pacific region where an increasing number of people are choosing to live in floodplain areas. Communities living in monsoonal regions have learned to live with floods. The most important component of flood management is assessing flood vulnerability on an urban scale. This study conducted flood vulnerability assessment and analysis of physical building structures in Warin Chamrap municipality, Thailand. GIS-based method of estimating the vulnerability of buildings to floods was employed for flood vulnerability assessment. The results identified building structures in the flood-prone area that are at extreme risk. The study found that 87 households were at a moderate to extreme risk in the extreme flood vulnerability area and 130 households with structural damage. The flood vulnerability index (FVI) is a powerful tool for a better understanding of community and building structures and to identify adaptations for vulnerability reduction. However, the FVI is limited by a number of factors that reduce its capacity as an accurate and practical tool for decision-makers. For future development, geospatial data visualization and GIS-based flood vulnerability assessment techniques should be considered as a method to provide a baseline to guide further study.

Frequent flooding in the central part of the Hindu Kush region, Nepal, results in substantial damage to lives and property, particularly in the plains. This study explores the catchment-scale flood hazard and vulnerability, generating flood risks under climate change scenario. Flood model was developed using HEC-RAS 2D rain-on-grid approach and CMIP6 projected climate data for SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios was used. Flood hazard, vulnerability and risk maps were generated delineating potential inundation scenarios for both 50-year, and 100-year return periods, under present and future climate scenarios. Hazard maps revealed a probable increase in flooding under future climate scenarios. Vulnerability assessments also demonstrated an anticipated escalation in future. Cropland dominates the land-use type in the study area, with agriculture vulnerability increasing by 22.14% (SSP245) and 29.322% (SSP585). The number of inundated buildings increases from 2967 in the existing scenario to 4601 (SSP245) and 5274 (SSP585). Similarly, road vulnerability areas are increased by 28.06% (SSP245) and 37.86% (SSP585). The impact of flooding is higher in SSP585 scenario as compared to SSP245 scenario. The catchment level outcomes have diverse applications, particularly in decision-making for flood management, integrating risk maps for effective strategies, and providing valuable insights into shape climate change adaptation policies. Keywords: Catchment scale, Climate change, Flood vulnerability, Flood risk, HEC-RAS 2D.

Taiwan suffers from losses of economic property and human lives caused by flooding almost every year. Flooding is an inevitable, reoccurring, and the most damaging disaster in Taiwan since Taiwan is located in the most active tropic cyclone formation region of the Western Pacific. Flooding problem is further worse in land subsidence areas along southwestern coast of Taiwan due to groundwater overdraft. Increasing number of people is threatened with floods owing to climate change since it would induce sea level rise and intensify extreme rainfall. Assessments of flooding vulnerability depend not only on flooding severity, possible damage of assets exposed to floods should also be simultaneously considered. This paper aims at exploring how climate change might impact the flooding vulnerability of lowland areas in Taiwan. A flooding vulnerability evaluation scheme is proposed in this study which incorporates flooding severity (the maximum inundation depth determined by a two-dimensional model) and potential economic losses for various land uses. Effects of climate change on flooding vulnerability focus on alterations of rainfall depth for various recurrence intervals. The flood-prone Yunlin coastal area, located in southwestern Taiwan, is chosen to illustrate the proposed methodology. The results reveal that reducing flooding vulnerability can be achieved by either reducing flooding severity (implementation of flood-mitigation measures) or decreasing assets exposed to floods (suspension of land uses for flood-detention purpose). Performance of currently implemented flood-mitigation measures is insufficient to reduce flooding vulnerability when facing with climate change. However, the scenario suggested in this study to sustain room for floods efficiently reduces flooding vulnerability in both without- and with climate change situations. The suggestions provided in this study could support decision processes and help easing flooding problems of lowland management in Taiwan under climate change.

The current trends of floods event in many countries are alarming. Hence, managing flood and the associated risk are crucial in order to reduce the loss and to be well prepared for the combined impact of urbanization and climate changes. The best approach to manage flood activities is a risk-based approach, where the vulnerability of elements at risk is reduced to a minimum. There is a significant number of studies that use an indicator-based approach for flood vulnerability assessment with focus on the macro-scale. However, this paper assesses physical flood vulnerability of buildings at micro-scale using an indicator-based method in Kota Bharu, Malaysia. The region is one of the most flood affected regions in Malaysia. Micro-scale vulnerability assessment considers damages for individual buildings at risk, rather than in aggraded manner. In this study, the methodology adopted involve the use of 1D-2D SOBEK flood modelling, the selection and weightage of indicators, development of spatial based building index and, production of building vulnerability maps. The findings demonstrate the physical pattern of flood vulnerability of buildings at a micro-scale. The approach can assist in flood management planning and risk mitigation at a local scale

Floods are a disaster that is very detrimental and has an extensive impact, so it needs to be managed. GIS conducted this research and a dynamic system to model flood hazards and vulnerabilities in Kijang, Bintan City, and analyze flood hazards and vulnerabilities, so the purpose of this research is to map Flood Vulnerability and Resilience in Coastal Areas. The method used in this research is the Qualitative Descriptive method. Qualitative Descriptive Analysis of Survey Data and Interviews with the Community The interview data is used to validate the flood hazard analysis. Superimpose analysis using GIS, resulting in the condition of each indicator. To obtain the infiltration map, rainfall data processing, contour maps, and soil type maps are needed. Using weighting and scoring, vulnerability analysis was then analyzed, resulting in a flood-prone map. The results of this study show that high inundation caused by uncontrolled land use and flood hazards strongly influences flood proneness when the regulations are implemented or adhered to. Scenarios 1 and 2 from human resources analyzed the policy's application of Regional Regulations, which significantly regulate land use control. Local regulations are vital in regulating land use control; therefore, less flood vulnerability will occur when implemented or adhered to. Contributed to the state of mind of local regulations by providing a clearer definition and understanding, the assessment will help develop detailed risk reduction, mitigation, and management plans in determining more appropriate flood resilience indicators for policymakers.

An integrated indicator-based approach for constructing an urban flood vulnerability index as an urban decision-making tool using the PCA and AHP techniques: A case study of Alexandria, Egypt

Geospatial analysis of alarmingly increasing flood vulnerability and disaster risk within the northeast himalaya region of India

Purpose: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of open budget meeting as a means of ensuring public participation in the budget making process at local government bodies in Bangladesh’s Sylhet region, and also compares the extent of public participation among urban local government and rural local government bodies.Methodology: This study followed both quantitative and qualitative approach conducting a social survey. Among 13 Upazilas of Sylhet district in Bangladesh, Kanaighat upazila was selected randomly. The study was conducted at Kanaighat paurashava and Satbak union. Findings: This study reveals that the most of the people participate in open budget meeting with a motive to get some personal benefits. Moreover, a few elected officials prefer not to involve the general public in the OBM, considering public participation as a source of disruption.Research limitations: Sample size is a limitation of this study. Due to Covid-19 situation, a larger sample could not be collected. Additionally, the study covers only one district, out of 64 districts in Bangladesh.Practical implications: This study suggests that the government and local bodies may take appropriate measures to enhance citizen’s capacity as well as access to information regarding budget making process for the purpose of ensuring inclusive and participatory decision making at OBM in Bangladesh’s local government bodies, leading to achieving SDG 16.7 declared by the United Nations. Originality/value: This is an original study conducted in Sylhet district of Bangladesh. The study findings confirm similar findings elsewhere in the world.

Water sprays from an open fire hydrant in Brooklyn, New York, in the midst of a July 2010 heat wave that affected much of the eastern United States.In 2007 the New York City Department of Environmental Protection first teamed up with Alianza Dominicana, a Washington Heights community organization, to educate city residents about the appropriate use of fire hydrants and other ways

Flood economic vulnerability and risk assessment at the urban mesoscale based on land use: A case study in Changsha, China

Flood vulnerability assessment of Thailand's flood-prone Pathum Thani province and vulnerability mitigation strategies

Development of a method for assessing flood vulnerability

Geophysical and social vulnerability to floods at municipal scale under climate change: The case of an inner-city suburb of Sydney

Assessment of rural regions' vulnerability to flooding is gaining prominence on a global scale. However, researchers are greatly undermined in their efforts to make a comprehensive assessment owing to the multidimensional and non-linear link between different indicators and flood risk. Thus, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is proposed to assess the multifaceted vulnerability of rural flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. This research presents a hybrid model for flood vulnerability assessment by combining TOPSIS and the entropy weight method. Households' vulnerability to flooding in rural areas is assessed through four components (social, economic, physical, and institutional) and twenty indicators. All indicator weights are derived using the entropy weight method. The TOPSIS method is then used to rank the selected research areas based on their flood vulnerability levels. The ranking results reveal that flood vulnerability is highest in the Nowshehra District, followed by the Charsadda, Peshawar, and D.I. Khan Districts. The weighting results show that physical vulnerability is the most important component, while location of household's house from the river source (< 1 km) is the key indicator for assessing flood vulnerability. A sensitivity analysis is provided to study the impact of indicator's weights on the comprehensive ranking results. The sensitivity results revealed that out of twenty indicators, fourteen indicators had the lowest sensitivity, three indicators were reported with low sensitivity while the other three were considered highly sensitive for flood vulnerability assessment. Our research has the potential to offer policymakers specific guidelines for lowering flood risk in flood-prone areas.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Requires Transdisciplinary Innovation at the Local Scale