Multicriteria Decision Making for Sustainable Holistic Flood Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Dear Colleagues,

Multicriteria Decision-Making (MCDM) is a comprehensive framework that includes various methods for structuring, evaluating, and classifying alternative solutions based on multiple criteria. In modern risk analysis, risk is no longer considered solely in probabilistic terms; it is now recognized as a multidimensional concept, reflecting the complexity and diversity of potential impacts.

A thorough flood risk assessment must, therefore, consider a wide range of factors—making MCDM an essential tool. In particular, MCDM techniques, integrated with geospatial data, are valuable for addressing the concept of hazard, especially in areas where hydrological models cannot be calibrated due to a lack of field data.

MCDM can also be employed to assess flood hazards where discharge measurements are limited, making it difficult to simulate runoff and river routing processes. In such cases, flood susceptibility—defined as the likelihood of an area experiencing flooding based on physical characteristics such as hydrology, geology, hydrogeology, topography and location—can be evaluated through multicriteria approaches. The significance of each parameter can be assessed by using such methods.

Furthermore, MCDM enables the effective prioritization and ranking of flood risk mitigation measures. A key challenge in its application remains the management of complexity and uncertainty, which are intrinsic to environmental and climate-related decision-making. Additionally, selecting appropriate weight vectors and synthesizing multiple criteria require careful consideration. Emerging techniques may facilitate the incorporation of knowledge from diverse stakeholders, even if their input is semi-qualitative. Overall, MCDM can improve the decision-making process by making it more integrated, transparent, and justifiable. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mike Spiliotis
Dr. Nerantzis Kazakis
Guest Editors

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