Flood Damage and Loss Analysis on an Interactive Web-based System
Understanding social and economic impacts of the flooding is significant to emergency decision makers for readiness, preparedness, allocating resources, and mitigating flood damage. To analyze the damage of the flood, there are several software systems available to researchers and decision makers. HAZUS-MH is one of the most widely used desktop program which is developed by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), to estimate economic loss and social impacts of disasters such as earthquake, hurricane and flooding (riverine and coastal) by using loss estimation methodology and implementing through geographic information system (GIS).
HAZUS contains structural, demographic, and vehicle information across United States. Thus, it allows decision makers to understand and predict possible effects and damage of the floods by running flood simulations through GIS application. However, it doesnt offer real time conditions because of using static data.
To close this gap, an overview of a web-based infrastructure coupling HAZUS and real time data provided by IFIS (Iowa Flood Information System) are presented by this research. To make cross sectional analyses between HAZUS-MH and IFIS datasets, emergency managers are able to evaluate flood damage during flood events easier and more accessible in real time conditions. With matching data from HAZUS-MH census tract layer and IFC gauges, effects of flooding can be observed and evaluated by decision makers. Thus, the framework can allow emergency decision makers to help response, preparedness, and planning activities.
Related Articles
Yildirim, E. & Demir, I., 2019. An integrated web framework for HAZUS-MH flood loss estimation analysis. Natural Hazards, 99(1), pp.275–286. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-019-03738-6)
Demir, I., Yildirim, E., Sermet, Y. and Sit, M.A., 2018. FLOODSS: Iowa flood information system as a generalized flood cyberinfrastructure. International journal of river basin management, 16(3), pp.393-400. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2017.1411927)
