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A GIS-Based Spatial Multi-Criteria Approach for Flood Risk Assessment in the Dongting Lake Region, Hunan, Central China

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Abstract

Floods, the most common natural hazard in the world, cause serious loss in terms of lives, buildings, and infrastructures. As a consequence, the need for flood risk assessment has become critical. Using a semi-quantitative model and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) weighting approach, this paper assessed flood risk in the Dongting Lake region, Hunan Province, Central China, an area where flood hazards frequently occur. The model was designed using spatial multi-criteria analysis (SMCA) techniques in a Geographic Information System (GIS). A GIS database of indicators for the evaluation of hazard and vulnerability was created. Each indicator was analyzed, standardized, and weighted; after which, the weights of the indicators were combined to obtain the final flood risk index map. Using the flood risk index, the study area was classified into five categories of flood risk: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. The high and very high risk zones are mainly concentrated in the northern and central plains. The results obtained can provide useful information for decision makers and insurance companies.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40971170, 51039001), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-09-330), and the National 863 High Technologies Research of China (Grant No.2007AA10Z222).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Yamei Wang, Zhongwu Li & Guangming Zeng

  2. Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Yamei Wang, Zhongwu Li & Guangming Zeng

  3. Community and Regional Planning Program, 313 Architecture Hall, College of Architecture, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588–0105, USA

    Zhenghong Tang

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  1. Yamei Wang
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Correspondence to Zhongwu Li.

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Wang, Y., Li, Z., Tang, Z. et al. A GIS-Based Spatial Multi-Criteria Approach for Flood Risk Assessment in the Dongting Lake Region, Hunan, Central China. Water Resour Manage 25, 3465–3484 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9866-2

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