Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessment of Mumbai City to Natural Hazards

An exhaustive knowledge of risk, hazard, vulnerability and exposure in different spatial locations is essential for developing an effective mitigation strategy to natural hazards. Vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of a region to damage in natural hazard. By identifying the areas of high risk and vulnerability, it is possible to make more informed decisions in proper management of a watershed during natural hazards. The present study has introduced an infrastructure component of vulnerability considering two types of infrastructure vulnerability: (1) general infrastructure and (2) critical infrastructure facilities. The infrastructure vulnerability is mathematically represented by a method of standardization, which provides a value between zero and one. The overall infrastructure vulnerability for different spatial region is determined by 'averaging' all indices of infrastructure vulnerability. Geographic Information System (GIS) has been used as a major tool for calculation of attributes and to map the infrastructure vulnerability. The information may be utilized in disaster preparedness and prevention measures. The developed methodology is demonstrated on 22 wards of Mumbai city and the areas sensitive to damage of infrastructures in disaster are identified.