Abstract:

This dataset contains more than 100 indicators and vulnerability scores relating to hazards and burdens from petrochemical facilities, flooding and chemical transport, ecosystem conditions, baseline health, and socioeconomic conditions used to help understand and map toxic flooding vulnerabilities in the Houston Galveston Bay region. Indicator data were used to develop vulnerability scores which represent overall vulnerability from the combination of indicators along with insights into the key indicators driving that vulnerability. Two sets of vulnerability scores were developed: one for ranking individual petrochemical facility sites, and one for identifying vulnerable areas of communities throughout the study area. Our approach advances flood vulnerability research with novel indicators that combine flood and chemical hazards and that sum individual facility vulnerabilities for their combined impact on a given community. We do this using a coupled modeling system that physically constrains the connection between facility sources and impacted communities. These resources are for planners, engineers, policy makers and concerned members of the Gulf Coast to understand the vulnerabilities to toxic flooding present at the facility and community level and assist with prioritizing locations for nature-based solutions that mitigate risk.