Infrastructure’s Vulnerability Assessment of West Azerbaijan Province with Passive Defense Approach

The main objective of this research is to assess the vulnerability of infrastructure in West Azarbaijan province. For this purpose, the process of evaluation has been taken using the GIS. The research method is descriptive-analytic. In this research, a multi-criteria decision making model has been used to overlay the layers. The relevant spatial data has been collected from official centers and authorities of the country, and for measuring and determining the criteria, documentation in form of written sources, and questionnaires filled in by local residents and experts have been used. The results of this study indicate that the spatial distribution of infrastructure in the West Azarbaijan province is concentrated and follows a cluster pattern, and this kind of distribution multiples the spatial vulnerability of the infrastructure. Also, 10 percent of the infrastructure of the province is considered as a sensitive and important infrastructure (from provincial viewpoint), of which 45 percent of the infrastructure of the province is exposed to very high vulnerability, 16.6 percent high vulnerability, 14.2 percent moderate vulnerability, 16.4 vulnerability and 12.5 very low vulnerability. Also, the results show that the border areas of the province such as Sardasht, Piranshahr, Oshnavieh, Salmas and Maku are vulnerable regions, which need urgent attention if new infrastructures are established. Also, the results of the research particularly the density of vital and sensitive infrastructures of the province in areas of high and very high vulnerability indicate the lack of optimal management of spatial deployment of infrastructure in the province.