Abstract
The purpose of this study is to conduct drought vulnerability assessment and cluster analysis of Korean island areas at eup (town) myeon (subcounty) level. Drought vulnerability assessment was conducted using factor analysis and entropy method, and cluster analysis was analyzed using K-means, a nonhierarchical cluster analysis method. Vulnerability consisted of climate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Twenty-two indicators were used to evaluate and analyze vulnerability of drought in small island areas. The results of entropy method showed that winter rainfall, no rainfall days, agricultural population rate, cultivation area rate, water supply rate and groundwater capacity have a substantial impact on drought assessment. The overall assessment of vulnerability indicated that Seodo-myeon Ganghwa-gun, Seolcheon-myeon Namhae-gun, and Samsan-myeon Ganghwa-gun were most vulnerable to drought. The cluster analysis was evaluated by categorizing the regions into three clusters, and policy support and planning are needed to suit the characteristics of each cluster was observed.
Highlights
IntroductionSevere climate change around the world has caused frequent disasters and extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, cold waves, and severely hot weather
Severe climate change around the world has caused frequent disasters and extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, cold waves, and severely hot weather.In particular, droughts among natural disasters are more persistent than others and cause great social and economic damage owing to their wide-ranging impact [1]
The 28 indicators selected through prior research review and VESTAP were reduced in dimension through factor analysis
Summary
Severe climate change around the world has caused frequent disasters and extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, cold waves, and severely hot weather. Droughts among natural disasters are more persistent than others and cause great social and economic damage owing to their wide-ranging impact [1]. Global economic losses caused by droughts are estimated at US$ 6–8 billion per year, which is significantly more than that from other meteorological disasters [2]. Korea is experiencing an increasing frequency of droughts owing to climate change, and extreme droughts of greater scale and longer duration than in the past are occurring [1]. Some studies [1,3] have reported that drought damage will be more frequent owing to the climate change effects, and continuous efforts are needed to cope with droughts. Korea is the fourth-largest archipelago country in the world after Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan
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