Extreme sea level inundation maps for Vanuatu

Abstract

Abstract Extreme sea level (ESL) inundation poses a growing risk for Pacific Island Countries (PICs), yet few nationwide inundation maps exist to inform national-scale flood risk management. This study presents a new dataset of ESL inundation maps for Vanuatu. ESL inundation was mapped for all inhabited islands ( n = 65) by (i) calculating extreme total water levels for six annual recurrence intervals (ARI) between 5 and 250-years, (ii) digitizing island or atoll rim boundaries, (iii) developing a composite topographical dataset comprised of Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and Forest And Building removed DEM (FABDEM), and (iv) executing a scalable static inundation model to map land inundation areas for 0.1 m sea level rise (SLR) increments between 0 m and 2 m above present-day mean sea level. Inundation extent and water depth above ground were calculated and mapped for islands or atolls. This dataset supports first-order national and island-level coastal inundation hazard exposure and risk assessments in Vanuatu under present-day and future sea-level rise scenarios.