Spatial and temporal changes of social flood vulnerability in municipalities of Slovakia

Social flood vulnerability analysis is an inevitable task for effective flood risk assessment and management, as it defines the sensitivity, resistance, and resilience of people, households, and communities against floods. This study aimed to assess the spatial and temporal changes in social flood vulnerability between 2001, 2011, and 2021. A place-based (municipalities) and hazard-independent approach was used to calculate the social flood vulnerability index (SFVI) in the studied years using geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial‒statistical methods. The interdependencies among the eight selected indicators were studied based on principal component analysis and factor analysis, whereas variance analysis was used to analyze the changes in each of the indicators as well as in the SFVI within the studied years. Spatial clusters of indicators and SFVI were determined using the spatial autocorrelation. Based on the results, the highest values of SFVI in each of the studied years were recorded in southern and eastern Slovakia, and overall, it showed an increasing trend throughout the study period. The changes in SFVI and almost all indicators, except population density, were statistically significant between the studied years. The results of this study are of practical importance for integrated flood risk management at a national scale.