| Title | Interactive web-based application for seismic and flood risk assessment |
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| Author | Nastev, M ;
Nollet, M; Abo-El-Ezz, A; Carrier, M; Smirnoff, A; McGrath, H; Stefanakis, E; Parent, M |
| Source | Abstract book, World Engineering Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction; 2016 p. 84  Open Access |
| Links | Online - En ligne (complete volume -
volume complet, PDF, 14.8 KB)
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| Image |  |
| Year | 2016 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20160437 |
| Publisher | World Federation of Engineering Organizations |
| Meeting | WECDRR 2016: World Engineering Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction; Lima; PE; December 5-6, 2016 |
| Document | book |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Program | Public Safety Geoscience Quantitative risk assessment project |
| Released | 2016 12 01 |
| Abstract | In Canada, disastrous severe weather and geological hazards take place every single year and often cause considerable damage and economic losses. To meet the pressing need of Canadian municipalities and
other levels of governments to perform multiple-hazard risk assessment, the federal government has partnered with provincial and territorial departments, municipalities and academia with the objective to develop standardized methods and tools for
risk assessment and to promote their widespread usage. This paper reports on the ongoing activities on the development of natural hazard risk assessment tools for use by the public safety community. The focus was put on an interactive web-based
application freely accessible via internet, with no need for any commercial software or advanced GIS or engineering knowledge.
The web-application in a prototype version is designed to allow non-expert users to run otherwise complex risk scenarios
at a 'press of a button'. The analysis runs through a simple selection process based on intuitive step-by-step prompts which begin with establishing location and hazard type, before requiring user input details of the event to simulate. It combines
seismic and flood hazard information, inventory of assets at risk and vulnerability models to compute the potential negative impacts. The hazard scenarios are modelled as probabilistic events with a given return period, as recorded historic events,
and as deterministic what-if scenarios developed interactively by the user. The inventory dataset consists of information on the building occupancy, structural type and economic value. A standard and relatively coarse inventory of the exposed
buildings is provided to users as a first-hand option. Users will be provided with the option to modify the embedded database and/or to build their own local inventories. The vulnerability modelling is based on the concept of damage curve as a direct
function of the hazard intensity at a given location, shaking intensity in case of earthquakes and depth of water for inundations. An example describing seismic risk assessment at an urban scale for the city of Montreal is given at the end.
The
web application is envisaged as a hub for earthquake and flood hazard and risk assessment in Canada with the possibility to increase the range of natural hazards in future maintaining the same modular framework. It is expected to bridge the current
communication barriers between the Canadian risk experts and decision makers within the public safety community. The combination of the ready-to-use information and the user-friendly visual web-environment will further promote the use of knowledge on
potential negative consequences from natural hazards in the preparation of appropriate long term mitigation plans, emergency action plans and for operational training. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This paper reports on the ongoing activities of development of an interactive web-based application which allows non-expert users to run otherwise
complex risk scenarios at a ¿press of a button¿. The web-application in a prototype version combines seismic and/or flood hazard information, inventory of assets at risk and vulnerability models to compute the potential negative impacts. The analysis
runs through a simple selection process based on intuitive step-by-step prompts. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 299878 |
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