Sustainable Approach of a Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment Using GIS Customized for Ungheni Areal Situated in the Metropolitan Area of Iasi

Hazards associated with natural factors annually result in significant human and economic losses. An accurate and up-to-date assessment of various hazards can limit their impact and bring benefits both in the modeling phase and mostly in the risk mitigation plan stage. The article presents the results of a multi-hazard analysis that considers floods, landslides, and earthquakes carried out in the Ungheni area, located in the eastern part of Romania at the border with the Republic of Moldova. The research focused on producing harmonized hazard maps for the two countries since the area spreads jointly between the two countries. Common geospatial data were used for modeling and risk assessment, such as airborne laser scanners, global navigation satellite systems, rasters, and vectors from analog and digital sources. Among hazards, the flood maps for the studied area, Ungheni, were designed using 2D hydraulic modeling in HECRAS software (version 6.3.1); the landslide maps considered the ArcGis platform following Romanian methodology; and the seismic analysis collected onsite measurements on the built environment. The shared use of geospatial data in modeling the three hazards led to high accuracy of the results and determined their spatial homogeneity. It was observed that only two areas, Mînzătești and Coada Stîncii villages from Ungheni Areal, are highly vulnerable to all three hazards. The research findings, along with mitigation recommendations, have contributed to the development of a more precise action plan for natural hazards events by local authorities and decision-makers.