Alternative Water Resources Selection to Supply Drinking Water in Flood Disasters by Multicriteria Decision-Making Techniques (DANP and VIKOR)

Abstract

Background. Emergency is generally caused by natural disaster and infectious disease outbreaks, or it is man-made. Floods are natural phenomena that generally appear in multiple parts of the world. Flooding is one of the most destructive naturally occurring environmental hazards and can cause public, infrastructural, and environmental damage. The purpose of this study is to select alternative water resources for supplying Bandar Abbas in flood disasters by multicriteria decision-making techniques. Methods. Information required includes possible water resources alternative for flood, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the water resources, climatic circumstances, and demographic information used in organizations data and previous studies. After selecting and proposing water resources alternative for Bandar Abbas in flood, the subcriteria were weighed applying DANP (DEMATEL-ANP) techniques and water resources were prioritized with the VIKOR technique. According to the network structure and internal and external dependence of the criteria and subcriteria, the advantages of DANP in calculating weights have been used to adapt to more real-world problems. The VIKOR technique was developed for multicriteria optimization of complex systems. Results. After reviewing and extracting the criteria from various studies, 9 main criteria and 44 subcriteria were defined to select water resources in disasters and emergencies. According to field studies and related organizations’ information, the proposed water resources for Bandar Abbas to use in flood disasters include humidity, sea (Persian Gulf), Sarkhoon plain, and wastewater treatment plant of Bandar Abbas. Conclusion. Results showed that the optimal water resources for Bandar Abbas in flood disasters are the sea and wastewater treatment plant effluent (after advanced treatment). The study proposed appropriate model to select optimal water resources for various natural disasters in different geographical areas. This model can help officials and decision-makers to plan for drinking water supply from disaster-prone areas before disasters occur.