Social vulnerability related to hydrogeological risks in the southeastern region of the state of São Paulo

Abstract

A region's risk of disasters is related to its sociais vulnerability. The aim of this article is to assess social vulnerability to hydrogeological disasters in the southwestern region of the state of São Paulo, an area with a high number of such disasters. Data from the IBGE demographic census was evaluated using Factor Analysis to generate two GIS charts: one using the standard deviation method and the other using the equal contains method. Validation was carried out by comparing the vulnerability charts with the inventory of hydrogeological disasters. It was observed that the chart generated by the standard deviation method was better consolidated with the disaster inventory than the chart generated by the equal contains method. The chart generated helps to allocate actions to the most vulnerable regions in order to reduce the impact of these extreme climatic events in the region.