A Validation Assessment of the Hazards of Place Model of Vulnerability for Northeastern North Carolina

Abstract

As societal development continues to increase in floodplains, it is important to quantify the vulnerabilities associated with flooding. Using northeastern North Carolina as the study area, this thesis estimates the hazards of place model of vulnerability for sixteen counties in Northeastern North Carolina. The hazards of place model of vulnerability is developed from the combination of two quantitative indicators: the Geophysical Risk Index (GPRI) which incorporates two types of geophysical risk factors (percent of block group within the floodplain and the percent of human development within the floodplain); the Social Vulnerability for Evacuation Assistance Index (SVEAI) which examines four evacuation dimensions of U.S. census data (population and building structures, differential access to resources, special evacuation needs, and a combination of every dimension). Using the hazards of place model of vulnerability, this thesis prioritizes low, medium, and high risk block groups into a matrix classification. The results from the matrix classification are validated by a sub-block group analysis of parcel data and an interview with one emergency official. Results reveal that the inclusion of human development land cover data and the combination of census data are important factors for estimating the hazards of place model of vulnerability. However, the interview suggests that there are a few geophysical and social systems that could not be identified by quantitative indicators. Overall, the matrix classification of the hazards of place model of vulnerability was successful at prioritizing levels of risk in the study area.