haz can

1127 Words3 Pages

3. HAZUS Hazus was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It is a standardized methodology for estimating potential losses from disasters (FEMA, 2013). Originally developed in the 1990s as a toolset aimed at getting a regional understanding of the impact of hazards, it has evolved to offer community level results [FEMA 2013]. Users of Hazus are able to: (a) identify vulnerable areas, (b) estimate potential losses, (c) assess how ready they are to respond to a natural disaster, (d) decide how to allocate resources, and (e) prioritize mitigation measures. Hazus includes models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods as basic models, and the ability to model storm surge along the coast as a combination of the hurricane and flood models. This is accomplished through the use of GIS technology to estimate the physical, economic, and social impacts of the disaster (FEMA, 2013). Free of charge, Hazus is an extension of ArcGIS and will not function without the underlying architecture map engine and analytical processes of ArcGIS. In the next sub-section we briefly describe the Hazus Flood Model. 3.1 HAZUS FLOOD MODEL Hazus is used extensively in the USA by government planners, GIS specialists, and emergency managers for pre-disaster planning: to break the cycle of disaster, damage, and reconstruction. Potential disasters are modelled and the results can be visualized to spatially identify relationships between populations and other permanently fixed assets. Additionally, tables and reports of inventory loss, replacement and depreciation value are generated. The loss estimation methodology employed by Hazus can be thought of as a multilevel approach. The first level uses the out-of-the-box functionality and inventory data, and requires minimal user knowledge or input. National level datasets for each US state have

Open Document