Prioritizing flood drivers: an AHP-based study of physical factors in Digha’s coastal belt, East Coast, India

• Published in: Spatial information research (Online) Vol. 33; no. 2; p. 12
• Main Authors: Nath, Anindita, Koley, Bappaditya, Choudhury, Tanupriya, Biswas, Arkoprovo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.04.2025; 대한공간정보학회
• Subjects: Database Management; Earth and Environmental Science; Geographical Information Systems/Cartography; Geography; Original Article; Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry; 공학일반; GIS; Topographic wetness index; Flash flood; Remote sensing; Analytic hierarchy process
• ISSN: 2366-3286; 2366-3294
• DOI: 10.1007/s41324-025-00615-2

Assessing flood-triggering factors and implementing risk reduction approaches are crucial policy issues, especially in low-lying coastal areas that experience significant losses due to flood disasters. In low-lying Digha, West Bengal coastal region has suffered from saltwater intrusion due to flow accumulation of Topographic Wetness Index (TWI). Nonetheless, a scarcity of research exists regarding experts’ viewpoints on identifying factors that lead to floods. Consequently, utilizing an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) questionnaire survey involving 25 participants, this study aims to investigate experts’ perspectives on the impact of distinct climatic and non-climatic elements in initiating flash floods. A total of five triggering factors have been assessed by the expert opinion and mapped them through GIS (Geographical Information System). The obtained values are 1.12 RI for five criteria, CI of 0.085, and CR of 0.0765. The final weights were obtained where 9% weights in the distance to the coastline, 33.9% in slope, 27.8% in LULC, 21.8% in TWI, and 7.5% in the distance to river. Hence, achieving this objective may be possible by involving professionals to gather crucial data on predicting and managing disaster risks and understanding the demographics of communities residing in areas prone to disasters.