Flood hazards and socioeconomic vulnerability across Arkansas: A geospatial cyberinfrastructure

Across Arkansas, floods pose a significant risk to the natural environment and both rural and urban communities. This work integrates flood hazards and socioeconomic indicators across the state to map the exposure landscape and deliver a state-wide geospatial cyberinfrastructure (GCI). Flood depths within the 100-year floodplain were estimated using a terrain-based model and geospatial analytics were used to identify at-risk infrastructure and flood-prone populations. The work utilizes a combination of datasets, including elevation, land-use/land-cover, and socioeconomics to analyze flood susceptibility. Spatial statistics were used to elucidate local-scale clustering of flood vulnerability to address concerns surrounding exposure and recovery capacity. The GCI allows for interactive visualization and quantification of flood exposure at the census tract and pixel scales. Findings indicate that urban centers, such as Little Rock and Fort Smith contain substantial development in flood-prone zones, though the majority of flood domain intersects with rural areas. In particular, agricultural regions of the Mississippi Delta experience expansive inundation, jeopardizing economic stability and rural family livelihoods. Ultimately, this research contributes to a broader understanding of flood risk in Arkansas and facilitates resilience planning in flood-prone communities by integrating spatial analysis with socioeconomics, providing a foundation for decision-making that is driven by spatial data. • A geospatial cyberinfrastructure of vulnerability to floods in Arkansas is presented. • A spatially continuous floodwater depth model for Arkansas is made available. • Local indicators of spatial autocorrelation elucidate disproportionate flood impacts. • Cropland, wetlands, and pasture/hay are the most flood-prone landcover types. • On average, 3.5% of buildings per Arkansas tract intersect the 100-year flood domain.