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Abstract: Flood disasters are one of the most common and destructive natural hazards all over the world. In this paper, improved interior-outer-set model (IIOSM) based on information diffusion theory is introduced in detail to assess flood risk in an effort to obtain accurate analytical results that represent the actual situation. Then fuzzy α-cut technique is applied to calculate the fuzzy expected values under the possibility–probability distribution (PPD) calculated by IIOSM. Taking the value of α throughout the interval (0,1], we correspondingly get access to the conservative risk value (R C ) and venture risk value (R V ). Selection of α, R C and R V is dependent on present technical conditions and risk preference of different people. To illustrate the procedure of IIOSM and fuzzy α-cut technique, we employ them respectively to analyze the flood risk in Sanshui District, located in the center of Guangdong province in China. The results, such as risk value estimations, as well as fuzzy expected values, i.e. R C and R V under the given α-cut level, can reflect the flood risk quite accurately. The outcomes of this research based on IIOSM and fuzzy α-cut technique offer new insights to carry out an efficient way for various flood protection strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]