HAZUS: FEMA’S GIS-Based risk assessment tool
Doug Bausch
FEMA Region VIII Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 710
Denver, CO 80225
As part of its efforts to mitigate hazards and protect lives and property from the
devastating effects of natural disasters, FEMA aims to provide individuals, businesses,
and communities with information and tools to work proactively to mitigate hazards and
prevent losses resulting from disasters. One of these tools is HAZUS or Hazards U.S., a
natural hazard loss estimation methodology developed by FEMA in partnership with the
National Institute of Building Sciences.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, HAZUS allows users to
compute estimates of damage and losses that could result from an earthquake. To support
FEMA's mitigation and emergency preparedness efforts, HAZUS is being expanded into
HAZUS-MH, a multi-hazard methodology with new modules for estimating potential
losses from
wind and
flood (riverine and coastal) hazards.
Hazus Multi-Hazard
HAZUS-MH, to be released in early Spring of 2003, is a nationally
applicable standardized methodology and software program that will contain models for estimating
potential losses from
earthquakes,
floods, and
hurricanes. HAZUS-MH is developed by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under contract with the
National Institute of Building
Sciences (NIBS). NIBS maintains committees of wind, flood, earthquake and software experts to provide
technical oversight and guidance to HAZUS-MH development. Loss estimates produced
by HAZUS-MH will be based on current scientific and engineering knowledge of the
effects of hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Estimating losses is essential to decisionmaking
at all levels of government, providing a basis for developing mitigation plans and
policies, emergency preparedness, and response and recovery planning.
HAZUS-MH will use state-of-the-art geographic information system software (ArcView)
to map and display hazard data, and the results of damage and economic loss estimates
for buildings and infrastructure. It will also allow users to estimate the impacts of
hurricanes, floods and earthquakes to populations. HAZUS-MH will be fast running to
facilitate use in real time to support response and recovery following a natural disaster.
Each hazard model will operate at a
Level 1 using national level data sets that are
included with the HAZUS methodology, and a
Level 2 using national level data modified
with local data for more refined results. A
Level 3 analysis will allow users to supply
their own techniques to study special conditions such as dam breaks and tsunamis.
Engineering and other expertise is needed at this level. To support data collection the
HAZUS-MH
InCAST inventory collection tool was released in 2002 with expanded
capabilities for multi-hazard data collection. InCAST assists users with collecting and
managing local building data for more refined analyses than are possible with the
national level data sets that will come with HAZUS. HAZUS-MH will include an
enhanced Building Inventory Tool (BIT) to assist users in collecting local tax assessors
data for use in HAZUS-MH.
