Spatial modelling of social and economic vulnerability to floods at the district level in Búzi, Mozambique

In Mozambique, the district level is empowered through recent policies to carry out disaster risk reduction activities. To address risk and associated activities appropriately, both information on the occurrence and distribution of hazards and information on the spatial distribution of vulnerability have to be available. Within this paper, a method is presented to model the social and economic dimension of vulnerability in a spatial and integrative manner applying the geon approach. Homogenous vulnerability regions are identified through the application of integrated modelling approaches, which build on expert and upscaled local knowledge and weightings. A set of indicators is proposed, which allow the modelling of vulnerability in a data-scarce environment. Finally, the different perceptions between national experts and local community members are visualised through maps, and opportunities are discussed. Overall, the method and results presented aim to facilitate the identification of critical vulnerability areas through different views, serving the needs at decision makers’ and experts’ level. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012