Coastal Vulnerability Assessment: A case study of the Ratnagiri coast, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Abstract The coastal zone is a vulnerable habitat that needs extra caution to protect ecosystems. Coastal systems are increasingly threatened by possible climate change consequences, as evidenced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s consecutive assessments. Increased tropical storm occurrences in recent years, in addition to the devastation caused by the tsunami in December 2004, have highlighted the necessity of analyzing the coast’s susceptibility to flooding-induced hazards to get a better knowledge of the factors that generate various hazards and, as a result, reduce the after-effects of future occurrences. The Ratnagiri coast in Maharashtra is prone to erosional hazards, periodic land rehabilitation, and sudden rises in sea level. The main objective is to calculate the CVI (Coastal Vulnerability Index) for the Ratnagiri coast. To analyze the vulnerability of the coastal region, eight risk parameters were used, viz. shoreline change rate, coastal elevation, sea level change rate, coastal slope, tide range, significant wave height, coastal geomorphology, and tsunami arrival height. The coastal vulnerability map was created by categorizing the numerous coastal portions into three vulnerability groups: high, medium, and low, which will aid coastal residents in risk mitigation in the future.