The state-of-the-art review of vulnerability indices: with a special focus on urban flood

[MP3-05] The state-of-the-art review of vulnerability indices: with a special focus on urban flood

Tanaya Sarmah (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur)

With the adoption of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, building resilient communities which can withstand the effects of disasters, has gained wider importance and popularity among researchers and practitioners. Vulnerability indices aim to provide a means of quantifying numerically the damage to humans and buildings sustained under various disaster types. However, vulnerability index does not have a single definition but it is concerned as multi-faceted by various researchers in various contexts. This paper gives a review of vulnerability indices, with particular reference to their use in assessing human and building vulnerability. A total of 64 journal papers published from 1998 to December 2018 were systematically analysed. A wide range of vulnerability indicators has come up in recent years to help evaluate the resilience of the people and the buildings. These indicators help to assess the vulnerability of multiple fields (social, physical, economic, cultural, environmental, etc.) to specific hazards (floods, earthquakes, landslides, etc.) at the regional or local scale. The methodology in this paper has been applied to Guwahati city in the north-east Indian state of Assam which faces urban flood multiple numbers of times, annually. The results show that disaster resilience varies widely depending on the spatial variations and type of disaster the area is prone to. The indices selected for the city will address the following: (a) identification of vulnerable people and buildings; (b) raising awareness; (c) allocation of funds; (d) stating and implementation of policies; and (e) conducting research. This could help to increase the quality of decisions in choosing the parameters specific to the disaster type and the location.