National Drought Vulnerability Assessment for Preemptive Drought Response

Abstract

South Korea has experienced drought cycles every 5 to 7 years since 1970, with a severe drought lasting five years from 2013 to 2018. To prepare for these recurring drought risks, the South Korean government deliberated and approved a comprehensive drought response plan in August 2017. As part of this plan, research on a national-scale drought vulnerability assessment and the development of a drought vulnerability map was initiated to enhance proactive drought response measures. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology for assessing drought vulnerability, conduct a nationwide drought vulnerability evaluation, and visualize the results through a drought vulnerability map to assist in decision-making and information sharing. The drought vulnerability assessment was based on the water supply capacity of regional water systems under different scenarios, with exposure, sensitivity, and secondary water resource capacity quantified and weighted in the evaluation. As a result of conducting a drought vulnerability assessment on 250 municipalities nationwide, regions that rely primarily on river or groundwater source for water intake were found to be more vulnerable to drought than those supplied by dams. Furthermore, municipalities located along the east coast, where rivers tend to be steep and short, exhibited higher vulnerability to drought.