Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin

Extreme rainfall events directly increase flood risks and further trigger environmental geological hazards (i.e., landslides and debris flows). Meanwhile, rainfall-induced risks are determined by climate and geographical factors and spatial socioeconomic factors (e.g., population density and gross d...

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Main Authors: Yufeng Zhao, Shun Xiao, Xinshuang Wu, Shuitao Guo, Yingying Yao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Hydrology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/12/6/134
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author Yufeng Zhao
Shun Xiao
Xinshuang Wu
Shuitao Guo
Yingying Yao
author_facet Yufeng Zhao
Shun Xiao
Xinshuang Wu
Shuitao Guo
Yingying Yao
author_sort Yufeng Zhao
collection DOAJ
description Extreme rainfall events directly increase flood risks and further trigger environmental geological hazards (i.e., landslides and debris flows). Meanwhile, rainfall-induced risks are determined by climate and geographical factors and spatial socioeconomic factors (e.g., population density and gross domestic product). However, the middle stream of Yellow River Basin, where geological hazards frequently occur, lacks systematic analyses of rainfall-induced risks. In this study, we propose a comprehensive quantification framework and apply it to the Loess Plateau of northern China based on 40 years of climate data, streamflow measurements, and multiple spatial and geographical attribute datasets. A deep learning algorithm of long short-term memory (LSTM) was used to predict runoff, and the analytic hierarchy index was utilized to evaluate the comprehensive spatial risk considering natural and socioeconomic factors. Despite a decrease in annual precipitation in our study area of 1.46 mm per year, the intensity of heavy rainfall has increased since the 1980s, characterized by increases in rainstorm intensity (+4.68%), rainfall intensity (+7.07%), and rainfall amount (+5.34%). A comprehensive risk assessment indicated that high-risk areas accounted for 20.30% of the total area, with rainfall, geographical factors, and socioeconomic variables accounting for 53.90%, 29.72%, and 16.38% of risk areas, respectively. Rainfall was the dominant factor that determined the risk, and geographical and socioeconomic properties characterized the vulnerability and resilience of disasters. Our study provided an evaluation framework for multi-hazard risk assessment and insights for the development of disaster prevention and reduction policies.
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spelling doaj-art-14ea5c8b0d304ecfb0dae73d25b2bb3a2025-08-20T03:24:33ZengMDPI AGHydrology2306-53382025-05-0112613410.3390/hydrology12060134Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River BasinYufeng Zhao0Shun Xiao1Xinshuang Wu2Shuitao Guo3Yingying Yao4Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaSchool of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, ChinaPower China Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited, Xi’an 710065, ChinaInstitute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaInstitute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaExtreme rainfall events directly increase flood risks and further trigger environmental geological hazards (i.e., landslides and debris flows). Meanwhile, rainfall-induced risks are determined by climate and geographical factors and spatial socioeconomic factors (e.g., population density and gross domestic product). However, the middle stream of Yellow River Basin, where geological hazards frequently occur, lacks systematic analyses of rainfall-induced risks. In this study, we propose a comprehensive quantification framework and apply it to the Loess Plateau of northern China based on 40 years of climate data, streamflow measurements, and multiple spatial and geographical attribute datasets. A deep learning algorithm of long short-term memory (LSTM) was used to predict runoff, and the analytic hierarchy index was utilized to evaluate the comprehensive spatial risk considering natural and socioeconomic factors. Despite a decrease in annual precipitation in our study area of 1.46 mm per year, the intensity of heavy rainfall has increased since the 1980s, characterized by increases in rainstorm intensity (+4.68%), rainfall intensity (+7.07%), and rainfall amount (+5.34%). A comprehensive risk assessment indicated that high-risk areas accounted for 20.30% of the total area, with rainfall, geographical factors, and socioeconomic variables accounting for 53.90%, 29.72%, and 16.38% of risk areas, respectively. Rainfall was the dominant factor that determined the risk, and geographical and socioeconomic properties characterized the vulnerability and resilience of disasters. Our study provided an evaluation framework for multi-hazard risk assessment and insights for the development of disaster prevention and reduction policies.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/12/6/134rainfallYellow River Basindeep learningspatiotemporalrisk of geo-hazards
spellingShingle Yufeng Zhao
Shun Xiao
Xinshuang Wu
Shuitao Guo
Yingying Yao
Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin
Hydrology
rainfall
Yellow River Basin
deep learning
spatiotemporal
risk of geo-hazards
title Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin
title_full Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin
title_fullStr Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin
title_short Assessing the Risk of Natural and Socioeconomic Hazards Caused by Rainfall in the Middle Yellow River Basin
title_sort assessing the risk of natural and socioeconomic hazards caused by rainfall in the middle yellow river basin
topic rainfall
Yellow River Basin
deep learning
spatiotemporal
risk of geo-hazards
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/12/6/134
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