Theoretical Framework Development for Flood Vulnerable Communities Using Geographic Information System for Disaster Risk Reduction: Mediating Role of Flood Risk Perception

The widespread increase in flood hazards and the ensuing impacts have guided a change in approach to flood risk management, especially in developed countries. Based on the realization that the integration of non-structural approaches to flood mitigation, understanding the social dimensions of flood risk is an important aspect is needful. Due to changing rainfall patterns and the increased frequency of storm surges in urban development, flooding has become a significant risk in Malaysia's Sarawak State. The most devastating flood event in Malaysian history was recorded in December January 2014,2015, which affected several properties worth millions of dollars and thousands of homes. Therefore, it is essential to address flood vulnerability by developing an integrated approach for modelling flood vulnerability to decrease the flood consequences. Many theories and frameworks present a solution, but no study theoretically develops a framework for flood vulnerable communities using a geographic information system (GIS) for disaster risk reduction in the Malaysian context. The focus of this study is to develop a novel framework for identifying the potential risks and assessing their effects on flood vulnerable communities, as well as to evaluate the role of GISs in risk assessment and overall performance improvement in Malaysian disaster risk reduction policies. To address this issue, we applied the new concept of geographic information capacity and capability, which is used to assess and quantify stakeholders' ability to comprehend, access, and engage with geographic data for disaster risk reduction. This is a conceptual paper; systematic and content analysis has been done for the literature review. For future study, there is a need to empirically verification of this theoretical framework. The proposed methodology to achieve this framework, quantitative research methodology will be employed. The questionnaire will be distributed among Malaysian disaster agencies and flood vulnerable communities from Sarawak. Data will be analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) for vulnerability risk assessment and flood disaster mitigation. The theoretical contribution of this study is the support of the theory of flood disaster as underpinning theory.