Natural disasters like droughts have a huge socio-economic impact on society.
Despite being an important component of mitigation, the concept of vulnerabil-
ity in association with extreme events has not been explored much. This report
presents a systematic approach for the assessment of drought hazard and identi -
cation of drought vulnerability indicators pertinent to the state of Texas. A novel
drought index known as Multivariate Drought Index (MDI) was used to simultane-
ously quantify multiple physical forms of drought. A composite risk assessment was
then carried out by considering both hazard and vulnerability components. The risk,
hazard, and vulnerability components were quanti ed using standardized indices like
Drought Hazard Index (DHI), Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI), and Drought Risk
Index (DRI). A suitable classi cation scheme was adopted for these indices to group
regions into classes ranging from low to high. Mapping of DHI, DVI, and DRI classes
led to the generation of risk, hazard and vulnerability maps for Texas. The report
emphasizes the importance of including vulnerability of the study area in the event
of drought while drafting planning measures. Ultimately, the study aims at bridging
the gaps existing in the current drought research, which even though substantial, still
fails to address some of the issues, and for developing a comprehensive framework
for better understanding of droughts in Texas which will help decision makers to
formulate a more e ective adaptation and mitigation strategy in future.United States Geological Survey (USGS) (Grant Number: 2009TX334G)
