Population vulnerability assessment of geological disasters in China using CRITIC-GRA methods

Population vulnerability of geological disasters is an important way in research on the relationship between human society and its geo-environment. This study examines the provincial administrative units of China as a research object. Twelve indicators are selected on the basis of three aspects, namely population exposure, population capacities, and environmental conditions surrounding people, to construct an index system for the assessment of population vulnerability to geological disasters (including landslide, debris flow, collapse, and land collapse) in China. Criteria importance through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Gray Relational Analysis (GRA) methods is employed to evaluate the population vulnerability of geological disasters in this country. The zoning map of China's population vulnerability to geological disasters and the ranking of evaluation results are obtained. The results show that the population vulnerability of geological disasters considerably differs in China, which is bounded by the Yellow River. The north of the Yellow River is basically a low population vulnerability zone, whereas the south of this river covers zones with moderate, high, and very high vulnerability. This study can be used as a basis for the reconstruction of the regional population's ability to resist geological disasters and undergo disaster recovery.