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Application of a multi-hazard risk assessment for local planning
Citation:
Buck, K. AND Kevin Summers. Application of a multi-hazard risk assessment for local planning. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk. Taylor & Francis Group, London, Uk, 11(1):2058-2078, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2020.1828190
Impact/Purpose:
The Patterns of Risk using an Integrated Spatial Multi-Hazard (PRISM) approach tackles the challenge of providing a multi-hazard risk assessment across multiple spatial and temporal scales and allows for a more integrative assessment of risk. The goal of this research is to both demonstrate the application of the PRISM approach to scale down multi-hazard risk assessment and quantity human exposures at the neighborhood level. To accomplish this, existing exposure data will be utilized along with spatial boundaries and population counts at the Census Tract. As in the original application of the PRISM approach, natural hazards are laid over land areas to calculate extents representing exposure risk. In addition to providing a practical demonstration, the research presented here will propose a theoretical basis to both add the human dimension and allow scaling to the census tract. Population risk information provides more insight with respect to evacuation challenges, mitigation impacts, and recovery metrics.
Description:
Multi-hazard assessments are increasingly vital to communities as exposures continue to change. Their data can provide a nuanced understanding of hazard interactions and their contribution to risk reduction. In previous work, the Patterns of Risk using an Integrated Spatial Multi-Hazard (PRISM) approach produces composite measures of vulnerability and risk at the county level for this purpose. The approach has the flexibility to be applied at a local level to benefit hazard vulnerability assessments and community sustainability planning activities. In this article, we use U.S. census tracts as proxy for neighborhoods for a localized PRISM approach. The goal is to demonstrate the applicability of the PRISM approach at the community level and identify vulnerabilities in social, cultural, economic, and built systems for use in comparative analyses and mitigation planning. Exposure estimates are created using spatial extents and modelled data from 12 natural and 4 technological hazards. Land area, population counts, and property values are used to estimate vulnerability. National patterns of exposure, vulnerability, and risk reveal distinct regional trends that point to the importance of how impacts are defined. Eight case study examples demonstrate how the data can be analyzed to compare drivers of community vulnerability and risk.
