Coastal Vulnerability Assessment for Eastern Coast ofIndia, Andhra Pradesh by Using Geo-Spatial Technique

The study mainly deals with the physical vulnerability of eastern coast India, Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the Indian states which have a very vast coastal line. Andhra Pradesh is very important to the whole economy, Vishakhapatnam is a major port situated in the eastern coast of India. Andhra Pradesh coastal line about 972 Km long, is affected by Storm surge, Cyclone, Sea Level Rise and Tsunami, etc. The method adopted for identifying the coastal vulnerability mapping was Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI). Seven parameters were used for identifying Costal Vulnerability mapping which are Historical Shoreline changes, Mean Sea Level Rice, Significance of Wave Height, Mean Tide Range, Coastal Regional Elevation, Coastal Slope and Geomorphology. The final results of this study are in the form of a coastal vulnerability map which shows the environmentally vulnerable areas. This map will give general idea about the probability of an area to undergo coastal hazards due to coastal erosion or sea level rise. According to this study about 16% area of the coast of Andhra Pradesh is identified to have high vulnerability which can harm the environment. The map prepared of the Andhra coast under this study can be used by the state and district administration involved in the disaster mitigation and management plan.