Abstract
Flooding causes significant public health issues. The Mekong Delta has been considered the region to be the most vulnerable to flooding in Vietnam. This study assessed the spatial vulnerability of the health impacts of flooding in the Mekong Delta region, Vietnam. This study applied a vulnerability assessment framework which was computed as the function of three dimensions: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The indicators for each dimension were derived from the relevant literature, consultations with experts, and data availability. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine the weight of indicators. Vulnerability indexes (VIs) were then computed for each province. A total of 29 indicators (sensitivity index, 14; adaptive capacity index, 13; and exposure index, 2) were employed to evaluate the vulnerability to the health impacts of flooding at a provincial level. The results of AHP revealed that the highest VIs were found in the Dong Thap and An Giang provinces (VI, 1.948 and 1.574, respectively). VIs were distributed with higher indexes in upstream provinces close to a river than in coastal provinces. PCA generated three components from the 29 indicators, and the VIs computed from the PCA method are in substantial agreement with the AHP method (ICC = 0.71, p < 0.05). The vulnerability to the health impacts of flooding varies from province to province in the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. Individual plans for health preparedness and adaption to flooding should be developed for each province in the Mekong Delta region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abaya SW, Mandere N, Ewald G (2009) Floods and health in Gambella region. Ethiopia: a qualitative assessment of the strengths and weakness of coping mechanisms. Glob Health Action 2
Ahern M, Kovats R, Wilkinson P, Few R, Matthies F (2005) Global health impacts of floods: epidemiologic evidence. Epidemiol Rev 27:36–46
Alderman K, Turner LR, Tong S (2012) Floods and human health: a systematic review. Environ Int 47:37–47
ARCBC (2014) Asean Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation: the gateway to biodiversity information in South East Asia. Access date: September 2015. Website: http://www.arcbc.org.ph/ [Online]
Assanangkornchai S, Tangboonngam S, Eward JG (2004) The flooding of Hat Yai: predictors of adverse emotional responses to a natural disaster. Stress Health 20:81–89
Beaumonth R (2012) An introduction to principal component analysis & factor analysis using SPSS 19 and R. Accessed from the internet: http://www.floppybunny.org/robin/web/virtualclassroom/stats/statistics2/pca1.pdf
Brakenridge GR, Kettner AJ, Syvitski J, Policelli F, De Groeve T, Nghiem S (2011) Predicting and managing the effects of extreme floods using orbital remote sensing. In: Extended abstract and talk: IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Vancouver, Canada, August 1–5 2011
Bunruamkaew K (2012) How to do AHP analysis in Excel. Accessed from the internet on July 2015: http://giswin.geo.tsukuba.ac.jp/sis/gis_seminar/How%20to%20do%20AHP%20analysis%20in%20Excel.pdf
CFSC (Committee for Flood and Storm Control SROV) (2004) National report on disaster reduction in Vietnam. For the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Kobe-Hyogo, Japan, pp 18-22 Januray 2005
Dartmount Flood Observatory (2006) In: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/Archives/2006sum.htm
Delgado KM, Apel H, Merz B (2010) Flood trends and variability in the Mekong river. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 14:407–418
Du W, Fitzgerald G, Clark M, Hou X (2010) Health impacts of floods. Prehosp Disaster Med 25:265–272
Eastham J, Mpelasoka F, Mainuddin M, Ticehurst C, Dyce P, Hodgson G et al (2008) Mekong River Basin water resources assessment: impacts of climate change. CSIRO: water for a healthy country national research flagship
Fundter D, Jonkman B, Beerman S, Goemans C, Briggs R, Counmans F et al (2008) Health impacts of large-scale floods: governmental decision-making and resillience of the citizens. Prehosp Disaster Med 23:70–73
Gso (2010) Mat do dan so theo tinh. In: http://www.gso.gov.vn [Online]
GSO 2012. General Statistics Office (2012): statistical yearbook of Vietnam 2011. Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi
HSY (2012) Health Statistics Yearbook. Vietnam Ministry of Health
Hunter PR (2003) Climate change and waterborne and vector-borne disease. J Appl Microbiol 94:37S–46S
IPCC (2014) Climate Change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. In: https://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/IPCC_WG2AR5_SPM_Approved.pdf
Kim JO, Muller CW (1987) Introduction to factor analysis: what is and how to do it. Quantitative application in the social sciences series. Sage University Press, Newbury Park
Linh VTP, Tri VPD, Trung NH, Thanh VQ, Tuu NT (2013) Assess the dynamics of water resources in terms of space and time and identifying changes of the land use in the Mekong Delta. Nat Sci Technol Environ 27:87–94
Mccarthy JJ, Canziani OF, Leary NA, Dokken DJ, White KS (2001) Climate change 2001: impacts, adapttaion, and vulnerability: contribution of working group II to the third assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Nguyen HT, Trinh HV, Nguyen HH, Do MC, Duong CN, Nguyen TB et al Correlation between household sanitation, water supply, mothers' hygiene behaviour and nutritional status of under 5 children in Vietnam. WASH 2014, 2014 Brisbane
Pham DVT, Nguyen HT, Vo QT (2013) Vulnerability to flood in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: mapping and uncertainty assessment. J Environ Sci Eng B 2 4:229–237
Ramin B, Mcmichael A (2009) Climate change and health in sub-Saharan Africa: a case-based perspective. EcoHealth 6:52–57
Thien LTTT (1999) Review of flooding and flood management: Viet Nam country statement, technical sesssion I: introduction to flood management. In: flood management and mitigation in the Mekong River Basin, FAO, RAP Publication
Tri VPD, Trung NH, Thanh VQ (2013) Vulnerability to flood in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: mapping and uncertainty assessment. J Environ Sci Eng 2013:229–237
Vastila K, Kummu M, Sangmanee C, Chinvanno S (2010) Modelling climate change impacts on the flood pulse in the lower Mekong floodplains. J Water Clim Chang 1:67–86
VN GSO (2008) Report on update population census in Vietnam
Vo L, Pham TDV, Nguyen HT, Vo QT, Nguyen TT (2013) Assessment of hydrological and landuse dynamic in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Scientific Journal, Can Tho University, 27:87–94
Yusuf AA, Francisco H (2009) Climate Change Vulnerability Mapping for Southeast Asia. In: ASIA EAEPFS (ed) Singapore
Zhu Q, Liu T, Lin H, Xiao J, Luo Y, Zeng W et al (2014) The spatial distribution of health vulnerability to heat waves in Guangdong Province, China. Glob Health Action 7:25051
Acknowledgments
Dung Phung was supported by a Griffith University Post-doc Fellowship 2015–2016. The authors thank colleagues at HEMA, Ministry of Health and HCM City Health Department for their kind assistance in our data collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
None
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Phung, D., Rutherford, S., Dwirahmadi, F. et al. The spatial distribution of vulnerability to the health impacts of flooding in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Int J Biometeorol 60, 857–865 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-1078-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-1078-7