Integrated assessment of geophysical and social vulnerability to natural hazards in North-East Region, Romania

The multidisciplinary approach outlined in this paper aims to assess the correlation between geophysical and social vulnerability for disaster risk reduction. To achieve this, two multi-criteria methods based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques have been integrated to assess the risk to natural hazards in the North-East Development Region. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was utilized to conduct a comprehensive hazard analysis, including floods, landslides, and earthquakes. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method was applied to examine the spatial distribution of social vulnerability at the Local Administrative Unit (LAU level), utilizing 24 variables to generate 6 principal components. Based on these results a Regional Risk Index (RRI) was developed using the bivariate method, combining the multi-hazard distribution with social vulnerability. The results showed that the north-eastern part of the region presents the highest risk, encompassing 10.68% of administrative units. These results can contribute to the design of risk reduction programs and policies.