Earthquake vulnerability in the Himalaya by integrated multi-criteria decision models

Himalayan mountains are one of the most seismo-tectonically active zones on the surface of the earth. Recurring moderate and high magnitude earthquakes are not uncommon in this region. This paper maps the earthquake vulnerability in the region using integrated multi-criteria decision models. Factors...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNatural hazards (Dordrecht) Vol. 111; no. 1; pp. 213 - 237
Main Authors Malakar, Sukanta, Rai, Abhishek K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.03.2022
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Analytic hierarchy process
Civil Engineering
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth surface
Earthquakes
Environmental Management
Geophysics/Geodesy
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hazard mitigation
Hydrogeology
Mathematical models
Methods
Mitigation
Mountains
Multiple criterion
Natural Hazards
Original Paper
Parameters
Physical properties
Seismic activity
Vulnerability
Earthquake vulnerability
AHP-VIKOR
AHP-GRA
Multi-criteria decision making
Himalaya
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Summary:Himalayan mountains are one of the most seismo-tectonically active zones on the surface of the earth. Recurring moderate and high magnitude earthquakes are not uncommon in this region. This paper maps the earthquake vulnerability in the region using integrated multi-criteria decision models. Factors which may influence vulnerability in a region can be categorized in social, geotechnical, structural, and physical parameters. We have used the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach to determine the weights of various parameters, which were further used to develop earthquake vulnerability maps for the study area using the VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) methods. There is good correlation between the vulnerability estimated through AHP-VIKOR and AHP-GRA methods. Our analysis indicates that more than 12% area may be under high to very-high vulnerability, whereas more than 44% population, and about 43% buildings are highly vulnerable to hazards due to earthquakes. The results would be useful for various hazard mitigation and infrastructure planning agencies working in the region.
ISSN:0921-030X
1573-0840
DOI:10.1007/s11069-021-05050-8