A novel approach of multi-hazard integrated zonation on the ancient Silk Road

• Published in: International journal of disaster risk reduction 2022-11, Vol.82, p.103325, Article 103325
• Main Authors: Zou, Qiang, Cui, Peng, Zhang, Zhengtao, Sijimons, Koert, Titti, Giacomo, Li, Shusong, Jiang, Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate; Geomorphology; Hazard-causing mechanism; Natural hazards; Silk road
• ISSN: 2212-4209; 2212-4209
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103325

Hazard identification is crucial for disaster risk reduction in areas featuring multiple co-occurring hazards and active internal and external dynamic geographical processes. Coupling the elements of external hazard-forming environments and the internal mechanisms inducing hazards, a novel multi-hazard integration zonation (MIZ) method has been developed in which a segmented multi-hazard identification function was constructed to identify the dominant hazard types and their boundaries in a region. Taking the ancient Silk Road as a case study, the major types and spatial zonation of multiple hazards have been identified, which are in accordance with the actual disaster situation. These sympatric multiple hazards present a widely spatial scattered distribution of individual hazards and a more concentrated distribution of multiple hazards in the ancient Silk Road area. These results, combined with the geomorphological features and the climatic zones of the analyzed area, reveal the spatial boundaries among these major hazards at the macro- and microscales. These findings suggest that the proposed MIZ methodology can provide scientific support for rational engineering layouts and regional planning and may serve as pertinent guidance for multi-hazard identification in ancient Silk Road area and beyond. •Hazard distribution patterns are revealed from the complex climate-tectonic conditions in the ancient Silk Road.•A new step is proposed for multi-hazard integrated zonation by coupling with internal hazard mechanisms and external hazard-forming environments.•Integrated zonation can scientifically identify the dominant types and boundaries of natural hazards at the macro and micro scales.