A state-of-the-art approach to assessing relative multi-dimensional vulnerabilities for urban flood resilience in the UK

This paper aims to quantify and integrate the Flood Exposure Index (FEI) and the Flood Sensitivity Index (FSI) to develop the Flood Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (FMVI), focusing on Kingston upon Hull, the UK's second most flood-vulnerable city. The research applies Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map flood risk parameters spatially and employs the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) to incorporate expert judgement more useful for in weighting the vulnerability parameters. A novel concept of Impact Percentiles is introduced using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), comparing localised deprivation scores against national averages and maxima to quantify relative multi-dimensional vulnerabilities. Assessing relative multi-dimensional vulnerability is superior because it contextualises vulnerability by enabling comparisons across regions or populations, making it more useful for prioritisation, policy decisions, and resource allocation. The analysis reveals acute deprivation across six Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in Kingston upon Hull and estimates relative disadvantage. Critical data-driven insight is provided into the intersection of physical flood exposure and socio-economic sensitivity. This data-driven research approach emphasises the ease and significance of integrating geospatial and socio-economic insights from a range of Impact Percentiles to prioritise high deprivation areas for policy interventions, enabling nuanced flood risk assessments, mitigation, and adaptation strategies. Discuss briefly – 1. The extent of the flood problem in the chosen study area, 2. Parameters of relative multi-dimensional vulnerability and adaptive capacity, 3. The methodology used: AHP, GIS mapping and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. • Identified six LSOAs with high deprivation and flood sensitivity in Kingston Upon Hull. • Used GIS, AHP and the Index of Multiple Deprivation to map flood risks based on expert-informed weightings. • A Flood Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (FMVI), along with Flood Exposure and Flood Sensitivity indices, is proposed. • Introduced Impact Percentiles using deprivation data for relative multi-dimensional vulnerability analysis. • Key vulnerability scores: 17.88 % (housing), 11.64 % (health), 8.87 % (education).