Coastal Multi-Hazard Vulnerability Mapping: A Case Study Along the Coast of South 24 Parganas District, East Coast of India

The present study on coastal zone of South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal is experiencing threat from several disasters like cyclones, storms, tsunami, flood and erosion. This area was greatly affected during 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and during 2019 Fani cyclone. This study is focused on generating Multi-hazard vulnerability map, which is a blended, and combined overlay of multiple hazards those directly or indirectly affecting the coastal zone. Block-wise vulnerability level was estimated using the parameters historical storm surge height, future sea level rise, shoreline change rate and high-resolution coastal topography with the aid of Remote sensing and GIS tools. The assessment result revealed that 67% of the total district is experiencing the severe erosion. An area of totalling 2090 sq. km is found to fall under multi-hazard zone and threatening the coastal population due to several hazards. Multi-hazard vulnerability maps were further intervened at block level, and study found that Patharpratima block is coming under highly vulnerable zone (63% of total area), whereas Diamond Harbour-I block is least vulnerable (6% of total area). These hazard maps can aid as critical area-specific information during the disaster for quick evacuation and to prepare management strategy and also be used to evolve a new facility and for insurance purposes.