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Assessment on Social Vulnerability to Adapt the Hindrances of Natural Hazards in Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal, India

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Geospatial Technology for Environmental Hazards

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Abstract

Social vulnerability is the resistance power of a community that influences its ability to cope with the impact of natural hazards which depicts the difficulties of advancement in local livelihood. Vulnerability not only depends on the frequency and intensity of hazards but also on the socio-economic conditions of local people in a region. Strong socio-economic infrastructure of a region can protect people from destructions of natural hazards and make the region less vulnerable. The present chapter represents block wise assessment of social vulnerability in Purba Medinipur district, located in eastern part of India. To determine the resistance power of the district, block wise data have been utilized. Eighteen indicators were identified and principal component analysis technique has been employed to calculate the social vulnerability index. After principal component analysis, 18 indicators were reduced to six components. The result also shows that Moyna block is most vulnerable and Haldia, Sutahata, Contai-I blocks are socio-economically least vulnerable. This assessment helps to identify communities; those may need support in preparing for hazards or recovering after hazards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geografía Física y Análisis Geográfico Regional, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

    Sumita Gayen & Ismael Vallejo Villalta

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  1. Sumita Gayen
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  2. Ismael Vallejo Villalta
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Correspondence to Sumita Gayen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. PG Department of Geography, Raja N. L. Khan Women’s College (Autonomous), Midnapore, West Bengal, India

    Pravat Kumar Shit

  2. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shiraz Univ, College of Agriculture, Shiraz, Iran

    Hamid Reza Pourghasemi

  3. RANDSTAD India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Gouri Sankar Bhunia

  4. World Resources Institute India, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Pulakesh Das

  5. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

    Adimalla Narsimha

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Gayen, S., Villalta, I.V. (2022). Assessment on Social Vulnerability to Adapt the Hindrances of Natural Hazards in Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal, India. In: Shit, P.K., Pourghasemi, H.R., Bhunia, G.S., Das, P., Narsimha, A. (eds) Geospatial Technology for Environmental Hazards. Advances in Geographic Information Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75197-5_11

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