Mapping Flood Disadvantage in Scotland 2015: Research Findings

Research Methods

This assessment framework recognises that social vulnerability to flooding is influenced by a mix of personal (e.g. disability or age), environmental (e.g. elevation of housing, presence of green space) and social factors (e.g. levels of income, tenure or extent of social networks). When combined, these affect the degree to which flooding may affect the well-being of individuals and communities.

The index of social vulnerability to flooding comprised 34 indicators in total, relating to 14 thematic domains (Age, Health, Income, Information use, Insurance, Local knowledge, Social networks, Tenure, Mobility, Physical access, Crime, Access to services, Housing and Green space). The main sources of data were Scotland’s census, Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, SEPA’s flood data and Ordance Survey data, in addition to some other information. The indicators were combined to produce an index of social vulnerability for the whole of Scotland at the neighbourhood level (using Scottish data zones 2001). The index of social vulnerability to flooding was combined with flood-hazard exposure data, to produce a final index of flood disadvantage. The flood hazard exposure information takes into account different sources of flooding (coastal, river and surface water) and different return periods^[1].

Social vulnerability to flooding and flood disadvantage were then categorised into six classes, based on the deviation from average Scottish values, ranging from extremely low to acute. Social vulnerability, flood hazard exposure and flood disadvantage were represented as map layers with Geographical Information System (GIS).

This project applied the same framework as the first assessment of flood disadvantage in Scotland (Lindley and O’Neill, 2013) and an earlier assessment of social vulnerability to climate change impacts (Lindley et al., 2011). However, this research modifies the original methodology to include more recent datasets to represent the indicators of social vulnerability and flood risk. Therefore, the results of this research should not be compared to the earlier work.