Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Dhaka Megacity pp 177–202Cite as

Flood Vulnerability and Risk Assessment with Spatial Multi-criteria Evaluation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Springer Geography ((SPRINGERGEOGR))

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to evaluate flood risk in Dhaka with geospatial techniques. Multi-temporal flood data, derived from digital elevation model and satellite imagery, were used to determine flood hazards. Census and spatial databases were used to evaluate flood vulnerability and risk zoning at a community level. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and weighted linear combination (WLC) methods were used to determine flood vulnerability within a geographic information system framework. The results revealed that 45 % of the study area was estimated as highly hazardous, accounting for 7 % of the total study population. Around 40 % of the communities in the study area are highly vulnerable to flood, with 8 % being extremely vulnerable. Further, more than 22 % of the population are in areas that are at high to very high risk of flood. Forty per cent of housing units are located in the high- to very high-risk zone, and around half of these were katcha houses, built using fragile construction materials—28 % of the communities in Dhaka were at high risk of flood.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Lower poverty line is defined as those households whose total expenditure on food and nonfood combined is equal to or less than the food poverty line, that is, intake of <2,122 kcal per person/day (BBS et al. 2005).

References

  • Alam M, Rabbani MG (2007) Vulnerability and responses to climate change for Dhaka. Environ Urban 19:81–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ali MA, Seraj SM, Ahmed S (eds) (2002) Engineering concerns of flood. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Azar D, Rain D (2007) Identifying population vulnerable to hydrological hazards in San Juan, Puerto Rico. GeoJournal 69(1–2):23–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bala SK, Islam AKMS, Chowdhury JU, Rahman MR, Haque MA, Khan MSA, Salehin M (2009) Performance of flood control works around Dhaka city during major floods in Bangladesh. A paper presented in the 2nd international conference on Water and Flood Management, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Balica SF, Wright NG, van der Muelen F (2012) A flood vulnerability index for coastal cities and its use in assessing climate change impacts. Nat Hazards 64(1):73–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2012) Population and housing census – 2011, Community report, Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur Zila. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), The World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP) (2005) Bangladesh household income and expenditure survey 2005, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Barua S, van Ast JA (2011) Towards interactive flood management in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Water Policy 13:693–716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bendimerad F (2009) State-of-the-practice report on urban disaster risk management, Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative. Available at www.emi-megacities.org

  • Birkmann J (ed) (2006) Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient society. United Nations University Press, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Bizimana JP, Schilling M (2010) Geo-information technology for infrastructural flood risk analysis in unplanned settlement: a case study of informal settlement flood risk in the Nyabugogo flood plain, Kigali city, Rwanda. In: Showalter PS, Lu Y (eds) Geospatial techniques in urban hazard and disaster analysis. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 99–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouwer LM (2011) Have disaster losses increased due to anthropogenic climate change? Bull Am Meteorol Soc 92(1):39–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton I, Kates R, White GF (1993) The environment as hazard, 2nd edn. Guilford Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook BR (2010) Flood knowledge and management in Bangladesh: increasing diversity, complexity and uncertainty. Geogr Compass 4(7):750–767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter SL (1996) Vulnerability to environmental hazards. Prog Hum Geogr 20(4):529–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter SL, Mitchell JT, Scott MS (2000) Revealing the vulnerability of people and places: a case study of Georgetown County, South Carolina. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 90(4):713–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter SL, Bryan J, Boruff W, Lynn S (2003) Social vulnerability to environmental hazards. Soc Sci Quart 84:242–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter SL, Barnes L, Berry M, Burton C, Evans E, Tate E, Webb J (2008) A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Glob Environ Chang 18(4):598–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter SL, Emrich CT, Webb JJ, Morath D (2009) Social vulnerability to climate variability hazards: a review of literature, Final report to Oxfam America. Available at http://adapt.oxfamamerica.org/resources/Literature_Review.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan 2012

  • Dewan AM (2013) Floods in a megacity: geospatial techniques in assessing hazards, risk and vulnerability. Springer, Dordrecht

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dewan AM, Corner RJ (2012) The impact of land use and land cover changes on land surface temperature in a rapidly urbanizing megacity. In: IGARSS 2012, Munich

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewan AM, Yamaguchi Y (2008) Effects of land cover changes on flooding: example from Greater Dhaka of Bangladesh. Int J Geoinf 4(1):11–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewan AM, Yeboah KK, Nishigaki M (2006a) Flood hazard delineation in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh using integrated GIS and remote sensing approach. Geocarto Int 21(2):33–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewan AM, Yeboah KK, Nishigaki M (2006b) Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for mapping river water flooding in an urban landscape: a case study of Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh. Jpn J Hydrol Water Resour 19(1):44–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewan AM, Islam MM, Kumamoto T, Nishigaki M (2007a) Evaluating flood hazard for land-use planning in Greater Dhaka of Bangladesh using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Water Resour Manag 21(9):2101–2116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewan AM, Kabir MH, Islam MM, Kumamoto T, Nishigaki M (2007b) Delineating flood risk areas in Greater Dhaka of Bangladesh using Geoinformatics. Georisk Assess Manag Risk Eng Syst Geohazards 1(4):190–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Disaster Management Bureau (DMB) (1998) Report on Bangladesh flood 1998: chronology, damages and responses. DMB, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Disaster Management Bureau (DMB) (2007) Consolidated damage and assessment, lessons learnt from the flood 2007 and future action plan. DMB, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Eakin H, Luers A (2006) Assessing the vulnerability of social-environmental systems. Annu Rev Environ Resour 31:365–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EM-DAT (2012) Global flood records, 1950–2011, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Universite catholique de Louvian, Belgium. www.emdat.be

  • Faisal IM, Kabir MR, Nishat A (1999) Non-structural flood mitigation measures for Dhaka city. Urban Water 1(2):145–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faisal IM, Kabir MR, Nishat A (2003) The disastrous floods of 1998 and long term mitigation strategies for Dhaka City. Nat Hazards 28(1):85–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fekete A, Damm M, Birkmann J (2010) Scales as a challenge for vulnerability assessment. Nat Hazards 55(3):729–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flood Action Plan (FAP) 8A (1991) Master plan study for Greater Dhaka protection project. Japan International Cooperation Agency, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie TW, Chu J, Elizabeth FA, Thomas D (2007) Assessment and prediction of natural hazards from satellite imagery. Prog Phys Geogr 31(5):459–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of Bangladesh (GoB) (2005) National adaptation programme of action. Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Haque E, Zaman M (1994) Vulnerability and responses to riverine hazards in Bangladesh: a critique of flood control and mitigation approaches. In: Varley A (ed) Disasters, development and environment. Wiley, London, pp 65–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt K (1997) Regions of risk: a geographical introduction to disasters. Longman, Harlow

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirabayashi Y, Kanae S (2009) First estimate of the future global population at risk of flooding. Hydrol Res Lett 3:6–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoque R, Nakayama D, Matsuyama H, Matsumoto J (2011) Flood monitoring, mapping and assessing capabilities using RADARSAT remote sensing, GIS and ground data for Bangladesh. Nat Hazards 57(2):525–548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossain S (2008) Rapid urban growth and poverty in Dhaka City. Bangladesh e-J Sociol 5:1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Huq S (1999) Environmental hazards in Dhaka. In: Mitchell JK (ed) Crucibles of hazards: mega-cities and disasters in transition. United Nations University, Tokyo, pp 119–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Hye A (2000) Effects on livelihood. In: Nishat A, Reazuddin R, Amin R, Khan AR (eds) The 1998 flood: impact on environment of Dhaka City. Department of Environment, Dhaka, pp 201–216

    Google Scholar 

  • International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) (2004) Living with risk: a global review of disaster reduction initiatives. United Nations Publications, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam MM, Sado K (2000a) Development of flood hazard maps of Bangladesh using NOAA-AVHRR images with GIS. Hydrol Sci J 45:337–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam MM, Sado K (2000b) Satellite remote sensing data analysis for flood damage zoning with GIS for flood management. Annu J Hydraul Eng (JSCE) 44:301–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam N, Sultana NY (2006) The status of women in Bangladesh: is the situation really encouraging. Res J Soc Sci 1:56–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsen F, Hoque AKMZ, Paudyal GN, Bhuiyan MS (2005) Evaluation of the short-term forcing the monsoon river floods in Bangladesh. Water Int 30(3):389–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jha AK, Bloch R, Lamond J (2012) Cities and flooding: a guide to integrated urban flood risk management for the 21st century. The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasperson RE (1986) Six propositions on public participation and their relevance for risk communication. Risk Anal 6(3):275–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kazmierczak A, Cavan G (2011) Surface water flooding risk in urban communities: analysis of vulnerability, hazard and exposure. Landsc Urban Plan 103(2):185–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kienberger S (2012) Spatial modelling of social and economic vulnerability to floods at the district level of Buzi, Mozambique. Nat Hazards 64(3):2001–2019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiunsi RB, Mechack V, Uhinga G, Mayunga J, Mulenge F, Kabali C, Sigalla N, Bilia M (2006) Disaster vulnerability assessment: the Tanzania experience. In: Birkmann J (ed) Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient society. United Nations University Press, Tokyo, pp 227–245

    Google Scholar 

  • Kundzewicz ZW, Hirabayashi Y, Kanae S (2010) River floods in the changing climate – observations and projections. Water Resour Manag 24(11):2633–2646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lankao PR, Qin H (2011) Conceptualizing urban vulnerability to global change and environmental change. Curr Option Environ Sustain 3(3):142–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maantay J, Maroko A, Culp G (2010) In: Showalter PS, Lu Y (eds) Geospatial techniques in urban hazard and disaster analysis. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 71–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahmud W (2004) The impact of floods on the economy of Bangladesh. In: Siddiqui KU, Hossain ANH (eds) Options for flood risk and damage reduction in Bangladesh. The University Press Limited, Dhaka, pp 81–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Malczewski J (2000) On the use of weighted linear combination method in GIS: common and best practice approaches. Trans GIS 4:5–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer V, Scheuer S, Haase D (2009) A multicriteria approach for flood risk mapping exemplified at the Mulde river, Germany. Nat Hazards 48(1):17–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milly PCD, Betancourt J, Falkenmark M, Hirsch RM, Kundzewicz ZW, Lettenmaier DP, Stouffer RJ (2008) Stationarity is dead: whither water management? Science 319:573–574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirza MMQ (2003) Three recent extreme floods in Bangladesh: a hydro-meteorological analysis. Nat Hazards 28(1):35–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirza MMQ (2011) Climate change, flooding in South Asia and implications. Reg Environ Chang 1(supp):95–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JK, Devine N, Jagger K (1989) A contextual model of natural hazards. Geogr Rev 79(4):391–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishat A, Reazuddin R, Amin R, Khan AR (eds) (2000) The 1998 flood: impact of environment of Dhaka City. Department of Environment, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Pandey AC, Singh SK, Nathawat MS (2010) Waterlogging and flood hazards vulnerability and risk assessment in Indo Gangetic plain. Nat Hazards 55(2):273–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul BK (1997) Flood research in Bangladesh in retrospect and prospect: a review. Geoforum 28:121–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavri F (2010) Urban expansion and sea-level rise related flood vulnerability for Mumbai (Bombay), India using remote sensed data. In: Showalter PS, Lu Y (eds) Geospatial techniques in urban hazard and disaster analysis. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 31–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelling M (2003) The vulnerability of cities. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • PreventionWeb (2011) UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Geneva, Switzerland. Viewed 1 Apr 2012. www.preventionweb.net

  • Rabbani G (2009) Environmental risks in Dhaka: present initiatives and the future improvements. In: Shaw R, Srinvas H, Sharma A (eds) Urban risk reduction: an Asian perspective, vol 1, Community, environmental and disaster risk management. Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, pp 319–338

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman M, Rahman M, Hassan D (2002) Assessment of water quality in flood affected areas of Dhaka City. In: Ali MA, Seraj SM, Ahmad S (eds) Engineering concerns of flood. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, pp 35–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman R, Haque A, Khan SA, Salehin M, Bala SK (2005) Investigation of hydrological aspects of flood—2004 with special emphasis on Dhaka City. Final report. Institute of Water and Flood Management, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramanathan R (2001) A note on the use of the analytic hierarchy process for environmental impact assessment. J Environ Manage 63:27–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rashed T, Weeks J (2003) Assessing vulnerability to earthquake hazards through spatial multicriteria analysis of urban areas. Int J Geogr Inf Sci 17(6):547–576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy M (2009) Planning for sustainable urbanization in fast growing cities: mitigation and adaptation issues addresses in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Habitat Int 33(3):276–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saaty TL (1980) The analytical hierarchy process. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Saaty TL (2000) Fundamentals of decision making and priority theory with the analytic hierarchy process. RWS Publications, Pittsburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanyal J, Lu XX (2004) Application of remote sensing in flood management with special reference to monsoon Asia: a review. Nat Hazards 33:283–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanyal J, Lu XX (2006) GIS-based flood hazard mapping at different administrative scales: a case study in Gangetic West Bengal, India. Singapore J Trop Geogr 27:207–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schanze J (2006) Flood risk management – a basic framework. In: Schanze J, Zeman E, Marsalek J (eds) Flood risk management – hazards, vulnerability and mitigation measures. Springer, Ostrov, pp 149–167

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Senga R (2004) Natural and unnatural disasters: the relative vulnerabilities of Southeast Asian megacities to climate change. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Switzerland. www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/SR004/WWF.pdf. Accessed 15 Feb 2012

  • Showalter PS, Lu Y (eds) (2010) Geospatial techniques in urban hazards and disaster analysis, vol 2, Geotechnologies and the environment. Springer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqui KU, Hossain ANHA (2004) Options for flood risk and damage reduction in Bangladesh. The University Press Limited, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha R, Bapalu GV, Singh LK, Rath B (2008) Flood risk analysis in the Kosi river basin, North Bihar using multi-parametric approach of analytical hierarchy process (AHP). J Indian Soc Remote Sens 36(4):293–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith K (2001) Environmental hazards: assessing risk and reducing disaster, 3rd edn. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Stalenberg B, Vrijling H (2009) The battle of Tokyo and Dhaka against floods. Built Environ 35(4):471–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suriya S, Mudgal BV (2012) Impact of urbanization on flooding: the Thirusoolam sub watershed – a case study. J Hydrol 412–413:210–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tawhid KG (2004) Causes and effects of water logging in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. TRITA-LWR master thesis, Department of Land and Water Resource Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

    Google Scholar 

  • Tingsanchali TA, Karim MF (2005) Flood hazard and risk analysis in the southwest region of Bangladesh. Hydrol Process 19(10):2055–2069

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN-HABITAT (2010) Monsoon flood 2010 Pakistan: rapid technical assessment of damage and needs for reconstruction in housing sector, Islamabad

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Sande CJ, de Jong SM, de Roo APJ (2003) A segmentation and classification of IKONOS-2 imagery for land cover mapping to assist flood risk and flood damage assessment. Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinf 4(3):217–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Li Z, Tang Z, Zeng G (2011) A GIS-based spatial multi-criteria approach for flood risk assessment in Dongting lake region, Hunan, Central China. Water Resour Manag 25(13):3465–3484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wisner B, Blaikie P, Cannon T, Davis I (2004) At risk: natural hazard, people’s vulnerability and disasters, 2nd edn. Routledge, Abingdon

    Google Scholar 

  • World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (1999) Comprehensive risk assessment for natural hazards, WMO/TD no 955. WMO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu SY, Yarnal B, Fisher A (2002) Vulnerability of coastal communities to sea-level rise: a case study of Cape May County, New Jersey, USA. Clim Res 22:255–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yalcin G, Akyurek Z (2004) Analysing flood vulnerable areas with multicriteria evaluation. Available at: http://www.isprs.org/proceedings/XXXV/congress/comm2/papers/154.pdf

  • Zheng N, Takara K, Yamashiki Y, Tachikawa Y, (2009) Large scale quantitative vulnerability analysis for regional flood hazard, Annual of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, B, pp 57–65

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

Akiko Masuya acknowledges her gratitude to Dr. Ashraf M. Dewan for basic data preparation and supervision of this work whilst studying for her MSc at Curtin University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Spatial Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth, 6102, WA, Australia

    Akiko Masuya

Authors
  1. Akiko Masuya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akiko Masuya .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Spatial Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia

    Ashraf Dewan

  2. Spatial Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia

    Robert Corner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Masuya, A. (2014). Flood Vulnerability and Risk Assessment with Spatial Multi-criteria Evaluation. In: Dewan, A., Corner, R. (eds) Dhaka Megacity. Springer Geography. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6735-5_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation