## 6 Discussion  
This study presented a comprehensive GIS-based assessment of major natural hazards affecting Lefkas Island, including flooding, landslides, wildfires, and desertification. While seismic activity is known to dominate the region's geohazard profile, our findings highlight that other hazards--particularly landslides and desertification--pose equally critical threats to both ecosystems and communities. Flood-prone zones were concentrated in low-elevation, populated areas, underscoring the importance of targeted flood mitigation strategies such as improved drainage infrastruc  
Figure 22: Screenshot showing a hazard page example of the Lefkada Hazard Explorer. Users can zoom in or out, pan, search for a specific location, change basemap, or toggle on-off different layers of information. They can also read the narration provided about hazard analysis and findings. The navigation panel at the upper left provides access to the other hazards and Home Page, while the info button directs to general information about the specific hazard, followed by links to the main official organizations dealing with this hazard. ture, river channel maintenance, and informed land-use planning. Landslide susceptibility analysis revealed medium- to high-hazard zones, accounting for 74.7% of the island's area. These zones are mainly concentrated in the central region and along both the western and eastern coastal areas, highlighting the need for slope stabilization measures and hazard-informed spatial planning. Similarly, Wildfire hazard assessment shows that a significant portion of the island falls within the high- to very-high-hazard classes, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive fire management strategies, including vegetation control, firebreak construction, and continuous monitoring. Desertification analysis further indicates that 86.8% of the island is classified as either sensitive or critical, particularly affecting the southern and eastern regions. This finding highlights the importance of adopting sustainable land management practices to mitigate long-term environmental degradation. The Multi-Hazard Map provides a first-level synthesis of cumulative hazard exposure, showing that over 63% of Lefkas Island is exposed to medium- to high-cumulative-hazard levels. This reinforces the need for integrated risk mitigation strategies, particularly in central and southern regions where multiple hazards overlap. However, the map does not currently account for dynamic interactions or cascading effects between hazards (e.g., wildfire increasing landslide susceptibility). This simplification reflects existing data constraints and this study's scope. Future research should explore hybrid modeling approaches that integrate physically based and data-driven components within a GIS environment to better capture such interdependencies. Furthermore, future work should prioritize the integration of real-time and temporally dynamic datasets to improve hazard prediction and monitoring. The incorporation of satellite-derived time-series data, such as the NDVI and other vegetation or moisture indices, will help detect changes in land condition and better assess wildfire and desertification dynamics. Similarly, the use of detailed precipitation metrics--including rainfall intensity-duration thresholds and prior rainfall conditions--can significantly improve the modeling of rainfall-triggered landslides. To address uncertainties in key environmental variables, future research should also consider probabilistic modeling frameworks that enhance the robustness of hazard assessments. Additionally, for composite indices such as the ESAI, alternative integration schemes--like weighted additive models or data-driven techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA)--should be tested to evaluate the sensitivity of final classifications.