Atlas of the Human Planet 2017: Global Exposure to Natural Hazards

The Atlas of the Human Planet 2017. Global Exposure to Natural Hazards summarizes the global multi-temporal analysis of exposure to six major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, tropical cyclone winds, and sea level surge. The exposure focuses on human settlements assessed through two variables: the global built-up and the global resident population. The two datasets are generated within the Global Human Settlement Project of the Joint Research Centre. They represent the core dataset of the Atlas of the Human Planet 2016 which provides empirical evidence on urbanization trends and dynamics. The figures presented in the Atlas 2017 show that exposure to natural hazards doubled in the last 40 years, both for built-up area and population. Earthquake is the hazard that accounts for the highest number of people potentially exposed. Flood, the most frequent natural disaster, potentially affects more people in Asia (76.9% of the global population exposed) and Africa (12.2%) than in other regions. Tropical cyclone winds threaten 89 countries in the world and the population exposed to cyclones increased from 1 billion in 1975 up to 1.6 billion in 2015. The country most at risk to tsunamis is Japan, whose population is 4 times more exposed than China, the second country on the ranking. Sea level surge affects the countries across the tropical region and China has one of the largest increase of population over the last four decades (plus 200 million people from 1990 to 2015). The figures presented in the Atlas are aggregate estimates at country level. The value of the GHSL layers used to generate the figures in this Atlas is that the data are available at fine scale and exposure and the rate of change in exposure can be computed for any area of the world. Researchers and policy makers are now allowed to aggregate exposure information at all geographical scale of analysis from the country level to the region, continent and global.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Modelling the spatial distribution of five natural hazards in the context of the WHO/EMRO Atlas of Disaster Risk as a step towards the reduction of the health impact related to disasters

BACKGROUND: Reducing the potential for large scale loss of life, large numbers of casualties, and widespread displacement of populations that can result from natural disasters is a difficult challenge for the individuals, communities and governments that need to respond to such events. While it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict the occurrence of most natural hazards; it is possible to take action before emergency events happen to plan for their occurrence when possible and to mitigate their potential effects. In this context, an Atlas of Disaster Risk is under development for the 21 Member States that constitute the World Health Organization's (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean (EM) Region and the West Bank and Gaza Strip territory. METHODS AND RESULTS: This paper describes the Geographic Information System (GIS) based methods that have been used in order to create the first volume of the Atlas which looks at the spatial distribution of 5 natural hazards (flood, landslide, wind speed, heat and seismic hazard). It also presents the results obtained through the application of these methods on a set of countries part of the EM Region before illustrating how this type of information can be aggregated for decision making. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The methods presented in this paper aim at providing a new set of tools for GIS practitioners to refine their analytical capabilities when examining natural hazards, and at the same time allowing users to create more specific and meaningful local analyses. The maps resulting from the application of these methods provides decision makers with information to strengthen their disaster management capacity. It also represents the basis for the reflection that needs to take place regarding populations' vulnerability towards natural hazards from a health perspective

THE NEED OF INTERDISCIPLINARITY APPROACH ON LANDSLIDES RESEARCH IN ROMANIA

According to the World Atlas of Natural Hazards (McGuire et al., 2004), the landslides are the most frequent and worldwide developed natural hazard. It can occur on any type of terrain where exist the proper conditions concerning the soil or bedrock, groundwater and slope. The landslides usually occur accompanying the other natural hazards like heavy rainfall, floods and earthquakes. In time, all subgroups of natural hazards (cosmic, geological, hydro-meteorological and biological) have been recorded in Romania. Types of natural hazard are very numerous (over 67). But five from the most important hazards, regarding the number of dead or affected persons, or economic damages, are the earthquakes, floods, droughts, excessive temperatures and landslides (Marinescu et al., 2010).Actually, the landslides affect strong many country’s regions. The high frequency of landslides on land have great importance in the evolution and shaping of the landscape. Large areas of agricultural land suffered from landslides which also damaged various buildings both in villages and cities, and destroyed roads, railways, etc. Damage in industrial areas is also important. Landslide terrains could seal some running rivers causing partial or total blocking of leakage. The landslide research involves considerable human and financial efforts. Being on very complex process, its survey implies the using of many scientific disciplines. The need for interdisciplinary approach within the landslides, who to conduct at better knowledge and, finally at more adequate stabilization solutions, is the main objective of this paper

THE NEED OF INTERDISCIPLINARITY APPROACH ON LANDSLIDES RESEARCH IN ROMANIA

According to the World Atlas of Natural Hazards (McGuire et al., 2004), the landslides are the most frequent and worldwide developed natural hazard. It can occur on any type of terrain where exist the proper conditions concerning the soil or bedrock, groundwater and slope. The landslides usually occur accompanying the other natural hazards like heavy rainfall, floods and earthquakes. In time, all subgroups of natural hazards (cosmic, geological, hydro-meteorological and biological) have been recorded in Romania. Types of natural hazard are very numerous (over 67). But five from the most important hazards, regarding the number of dead or affected persons, or economic damages, are the earthquakes, floods, droughts, excessive temperatures and landslides (Marinescu et al., 2010).Actually, the landslides affect strong many country’s regions. The high frequency of landslides on land have great importance in the evolution and shaping of the landscape. Large areas of agricultural land suffered from landslides which also damaged various buildings both in villages and cities, and destroyed roads, railways, etc. Damage in industrial areas is also important. Landslide terrains could seal some running rivers causing partial or total blocking of leakage. The landslide research involves considerable human and financial efforts. Being on very complex process, its survey implies the using of many scientific disciplines. The need for interdisciplinary approach within the landslides, who to conduct at better knowledge and, finally at more adequate stabilization solutions, is the main objective of this paper

From natural hazard to environmental catastrophe: Past and present

The number of environmental catastrophes is rising, mostly owing to an increase in hydrometeorological hazards. The number of disasters is escalating as the world population grows and people settle in marginal areas. In order to improve preparedness, the geological and archaeological records must be investigated as they hold a wider range of possible events than the much shorter instrumental record. Catastrophes will gain amplitude with rapid onset, long duration, larger affected area, inflexible society and, of cause, convergence of threats. Too often, it seems that today’s societies resist learning from the past and therefore tend to repeat errors. A new field of science is emerging: the science of environmental catastrophes, which requires not only robust chronologies to firmly link cause and effect, but also bridges the crossing between the geosciences and social sciences

The dilemmas of risk-sensitive development on a small volcanic island

In the Small Islands Developing State (SIDS) of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, the most destructive disasters in terms of human casualties have been the multiple eruptions of La Soufrière volcano situated in the north of St Vincent. Despite this major threat, people continue to live close to the volcano and national development plans do not include risk reduction measures for volcanic hazards. This paper examines the development options in volcanic SIDS and presents a number of conundrums for disaster risk management on the island of St Vincent. Improvements in monitoring of volcanic hazards and ongoing programmes to enhance communications systems and encourage community preparedness planning have increased awareness of the risks associated with volcanic hazards, yet this has not translated into more risk-informed development planning decisions. The current physical development plan in fact promotes investment in infrastructure in settlements located within the zone designated very high-hazard. However, this is not an anomaly or an irrational decision: severe space constraints in SIDS, as well as other historical social and economic factors, limit growth and options for low-risk development. Greater attention needs to be placed on developing measures to reduce risk, particularly from low-intensity hazards like ash, limiting where possible exposure to volcanic hazards and building the resilience of communities living in high-risk areas. This requires planning for both short- and longer-term impacts from renewed activity. Volcanic SIDS face multiple hazards because of their geography and topography, so development plans should identify these interconnected risks and options for their reduction, alongside measures aimed at improving personal preparedness plans so communities can learn to live with risk

Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

Atlas of Ocean Wealth

The Atlas of Ocean Wealth is the largest collection to date of information about the economic, social and cultural values of coastal and marine habitats from all over the world. It is a synthesis of innovative science, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with many partners around the world. Through these efforts, they've gathered vast new datasets from both traditional and less likely sources.The work includes more than 35 novel and critically important maps that show how nature's value to people varies widely from place to place. They also illustrate nature's potential. These maps show that one can accurately quantify the value of marine resources. Further, by enumerating such values, one can encourage their protection or enhancement for the benefit of people all around the world. In summary, it clearly articulates not just that we need nature, but how much we need it, and where