Assessment of Areas Vulnerable to Natural Hazards (case Study: Rural Areas CountyAzna)

INTRODUCTION: Rural areas, usually when compared to other human settlements in terms of natural events, have the greatest vulnerability. The aim of this study was to evaluate natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, floods and identify high-risk zones in rural areas of the central township of Azna County, Iran. METHODS: Topographic and geology maps, elevation digital model, and seismic and meteorological data along with field studies were used to investigate the location of villages in terms of earthquakes, landslides, and floods. Then, factors effective in each of the hazards were identified and grouped in separate layers. The Arc geographic information system (GIS) software was used to develop and integrate maps; AHP model and paired comparison method were used to weight effective factors in the possibility of any of the natural hazards, and to compare the criteria one by one. The fuzzy logic model was used to standardize the layers in Arc GIS software. Moreover, the overlay model index was used to integrate final layers of natural hazards and determine high-risk zones. FINDINGS: It was found that 49% of villages, due to their placement on major and minor faults, were in the high-risk earthquake zone. The risk of landslides in areas where rural areas were based is very low due to the low slope, and only 10% of the villages are at risk of landslides. In addition, 14% of the villages, due to their placement on major rivers beds, were in the high-risk and very high-risk flooding categories. Prioritization of rural areas in terms of natural hazards using the AHP model shows that eight villages were located in high-risk areas. CONCLUSION: Providing maps of potential natural hazards can be helpful in crisis management and identification of high-risk settlements.