Cyclone Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal Odisha: A Sub-district Level Analysis

Tropical cyclones have the potential of unleashing havoc on ecosystems, infrastructure, and even individuals. Situated in the eastern region of India, Odisha, an Indian constituent state, shares its eastern border with the Bay of Bengal. Owing to its extensive coastline of more than 450 kms, the state is vulnerable to cyclones. Conducting a comprehensive vulnerability assessment in the coastal districts as well as Community Development (CD) blocks of Odisha would help ascertain the level of vulnerability and provide a deeper understanding of households’ capacity to adjust to this extreme event. With quick advancements in a variety of data availability and processing techniques, the use of remote sensing and spatial analysis has risen dramatically to control the effects of catastrophic disasters on the ground. Existing coastal vulnerability and sensitivity indices generally concur that incorporating socioeconomic indicators will facilitate the identification of vulnerable locations. Hence, the present study seeks to construct an integrated coastal risk assessment index for coastal Odisha, taking into account both physical and socioeconomic attributes both at district as well as sub-district (block) level. The study encompasses 103 blocks distributed over 9 districts of the coastal region of Odisha. Ten parameters were chosen based on the criteria of physical and social vulnerability. A vulnerability map is created to identify zones with very low, low, moderate, and high vulnerability based on the weights and scores obtained using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Findings reveal that around 32% of the whole study area, which amounts to 9820 sq. km, is classified as the highly vulnerable zone. The majority of the blocks are classified as the moderately vulnerable zone, encompassing around 15,000 sq. km, or 48% of the total area. The area with the lowest danger, which covers only 235 sq. km (0.78% of the total), is classified as a very low- or no-risk zone. The findings could be valuable for policymakers in developing and executing proactive strategies to mitigate cyclone impacts. The findings of this study endorse the notion that communities living in such areas should be provided with interventions that target the reduction of susceptibility and the adoption of appropriate adaptive strategies.