Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment and Multi-Criteria Decision Making Analysis of Eastern Coast of India Using GIS-Based Tools

The marine environment is a vital resource that sustains many people and a variety of ecosystems rich in biodiversity. However, coastal resources and human dwellings are exposed to natural calamities like tsunamis. This article explains a GIS-based multi-criteria study of tsunami exposure along India's eastern coast. Six geographical parameters were employed to determine the research area's vulnerability: elevation, slope, population density, coastal proximity, land use land cover (LULC), and flow accumulation. Additionally, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (A.H.P.) was used to weight the characteristics’ criteria. Comparing the vulnerability map to the other parameter maps reveals that highly vulnerable locations are either densely populated or with lower surface elevation or agricultural. GIS-based analyses can assist in various disaster assessments and expedite regional planning for natural disaster prevention and response, like tsunamis. The tsunami susceptibility mapping is expected to aid in the initial stages of tsunami mitigation and management measures along the eastern coast of India in the case of a future tsunami. Moreover, connectivity and safe locations map with primary roads, secondary roads, railway routes, and possible safe locations (high elevation areas) is also mapped to ease the mitigation during an actual tsunami.