Research at the Earth Institute is organized into nine themes. Hazards and Risk Reduction is one of them.
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts and landslides can have devastating effects on human populations and economies. Studies show that these hazards are on the rise, likely due to climate change in many cases. With increasing numbers of people living in crowded cities and other vulnerable areas, it is more important than ever to advance our understanding of natural disasters and the ways in which humans respond to them. Researchers at the Earth Institute strive to deepen the world’s understanding of a range of hazards, from droughts to earthquakes to landslides.
Featured Projects
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Earthquakes pose a great risk to people who live and work in poorly constructed buildings. Available data on structural vulnerability to earthquake damage are currently incomplete and variable in quality. As an element of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM), an international initiative to improve assessment of and decision making based on earthquake risk, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) is participating in a three-year project to develop a Global Exposure Database of the earthquake vulnerability of structures across the globe. The University of Pavia, Italy is leading the initiative. CIESIN is coordinating the design of the underlying database and supporting its interoperability with other Global Earthquake Model components. CIESIN is also helping to populate the database, drawing on its extensive population and other spatial data resources and longstanding expertise in this area.
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), in collaboration with researchers from across the Earth Institute and from around the world, is leading a range of efforts to improve data and information on natural hazards and conflicts while developing new methods for combining these data in useful ways for research and disaster management. In 2005 CIESIN co-led an international study of Global Natural Disaster Risk Hotspots that received a Good Practice Award from the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank for an “initiative with demonstrated impact/results.” Researchers from CIESIN and IRI also contributed to an international project led by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute to assess the risks of natural hazards and civil conflict in Asia in support of the humanitarian response needs of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. CIESIN continues to support other national and international activities and initiatives concerned with disaster data and risks, working with such groups as the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the UN Geographic Information Support Team, the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk initiative of the International Council for Science, and the Group on Earth Observations.
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Under the auspices of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) is co-leading an international group of experts to develop a global, publicly available database on intercity roads. Recent projects include a Gates Foundation AGCommons grant to map Ethiopian roads using a customized Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) interface (in collaboration with World Food Program field staff), and a NASA-SERVIR funded project to develop roads data from ASTER satellite imagery. The first phase product, the Global Roads Open Access Data Set (gROADS), will be released in 2011, and efforts to improve it will continue under the auspices of a CODATA Task Group.
University of Pavia
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Global Urban Observatory
ImageCat, Inc.
China Earthquake Administration
Joint Research Centre of the European Union
U.S. Geological Survey (advisory)
European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (advisory)
Earthquakes pose the greatest risks where people live and work in poorly constructed buildings. Unfortunately, data on buildings and other structures, and especially their vulnerability to earthquake damage, are incomplete and variable in quality. As an element of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM), an international initiative to improve assessment and decision making regarding earthquake risk, CIESIN is participating in a new three-year project to develop a comprehensive Global Exposure Database, led by the University of Pavia in Italy. CIESIN is leading the design of the underlying database and supporting the interoperability of the database with other GEM components. Another CIESIN role is to help populate the database, drawing on its extensive population and other spatial data resources and longstanding expertise in this area.
International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI)
Climate-related and weather disasters have a devastating impact on human development. Globally, climate events including floods, droughts, cyclones, heat waves, and mudslides contribute to tens of thousands of deaths, hundreds of thousands of injuries, and billions of dollars in economic losses each year. Climate and other drivers of change are increasing the challenges faced by the humanitarian community. In developing countries, losses associated with climate- and weather-related disasters are a major source of risk that can, in many cases, destroy development gains and accumulated wealth.
The upcoming issue of the Climate and Society publication, called A Better Climate for Disaster Risk Management?, explores issues at the nexus of climate-related disasters and development. It will take stock of the needs and capabilities of the humanitarian community and assess the information products that may help its decision-making process. The document will also point out data and research requirements necessary to improve the use of climate information for disaster response and preparedness.
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