Drought risk assessment considering regional socio-economic factors and water supply system

Abstract

Although drought is a natural phenomenon, its damage occurs in combination with regional physical and social factors. Especially, related to the supply and demand of various waters, drought causes great socio-economic damage. Even meteorological droughts occur with similar severity, its impact varies depending on the regional characteristics and water supply system. Therefore, this study assessed regional drought risk considering regional socio-economic factors and water supply system. Drought hazard was assessed by grading the joint drought management index (JDMI) which represents water shortage. Drought vulnerability was assessed by weighted averaging 10 socio-economic factors using Entropy, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). Drought response capacity that represents regional water supply factors was assessed by employing Bayesian networks. Drought risk was determined by multiplying a cubic root of the hazard, vulnerability, and response capacity. For the drought hazard meaning the possibility of failure to supply water, Goesan-gun was the highest at 0.81. For the drought vulnerability, Daejeon was most vulnerable at 0.61. Considering the regional water supply system, Sejong had the lowest drought response capacity. Finally, the drought risk was the highest in Cheongju-si. This study identified the regional drought risk and vulnerable causes of drought, which is useful in preparing drought mitigation policy considering the regional characteristics in the future. © 2022 Korea Water Resources Association.