Dynamic vulnerability assessment framework for urban flood disasters considering real-time population changes

ABSTRACT Flood vulnerability assessment is an important means to cope with urban flood disasters. However, urban population mobility and land-use changes bring significant uncertainty to vulnerability assessments. In order to respond to the refined and dynamic needs of urban flood disaster prevention and control, a multi-scale and multi-categorized urban flood dynamic vulnerability assessment framework that considers real-time population changes was proposed in this study. The framework used the comprehensive function of exposure, sensitivity, and coping ability under population dynamic changes to characterize urban flood dynamic vulnerability, and constructed urban flood disaster vulnerability assessment models at both grid and regional scales. The results show that population mobility has a significant impact on the vulnerability of urban flood disasters. The vulnerability of flood disasters in Zhengzhou City is highest at 8:00 and 18:00, and high-vulnerability areas are mainly concentrated in residential areas in the central part of the city and main transportation channels. From 10:00 to 15:00, the high-vulnerability areas migrate to public service areas in the eastern part of Zhengzhou City. In the evening, the vulnerability degree of flood disasters is relatively low. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for urban flood managers to prevent and control flood disasters.