HAZUS: A Risk Assessment Tool for Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Floods and Its Value for Mitigation and Response

HAZUS is a powerful risk assessment software program for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricane winds and earthquakes that is nationally applicable and uses standardized methodology. HAZUS was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under contract with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). In HAZUS, current scientific and engineering knowledge is coupled with the latest geographic information systems (GIS) technology to produce estimates of hazard-related damage before or after a disaster occurs. Loss estimates include physical damage to buildings and infrastructure; economic loss including lost jobs, business interruptions, repair and reconstruction costs; and social impacts including estimates of shelter requirements, displaced households, and population exposed to scenario disasters. This briefing will describe the role of HAZUS in defining the value of pre-disaster planning and mitigation by highlighting examples of federal, state and local applications and provide some vision for the future of HAZUS for risk reduction and response enhancement.

Agenda

Briefing

Moderator:
Michael Buckley, FEMA, Deputy Director for Mitigation

Speakers:
Rich Eisner, recently retired as Coastal Region Administrator and Manager of the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) in the Governor's Office of Emergency Services of the State of California, will present HAZUS Earthquake Model applications, including a HAZUS simulation of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and the role of HAZUS during the San Simeon Earthquake.

Kevin Mickey, Director of the Professional GIS Education Program for The Polis Center at Indiana University Purdue University and an Adjunct Faculty member, will present HAZUS Flood Model applications, including an Indiana statewide flood study.

Rick Burgess, lead GIS planner for Charlotte County, FL (Punta Gorda) and the Florida HAZUS User Group leader, will present HAZUS Hurricane Model applications, including its role during Hurricane Charley and succeeding hurricane events.

Panel Discussion: The second half hour of the briefing will be devoted to a broad discussion among the speakers and the audience about HAZUS and its uses and applications for disaster mitigation and response.

The Alliance invites your participation in the briefing and in future Caucus events. For more information, contact Linda Rowan at 703-379-2480 ext. 228; rowan@agiweb.org.

Contributed Linda Rowan, AGI Government Affairs Staff

Posted: October 3, 2006; Update February 22, 2007

Please send any comments or questions about this web site to Linda Rowan.