Risk Assessment and Mapping
Disaster risk assessment and mapping is one of the core services of the Centre for Disaster Preparedness, Recovery & Research (CDPRR). We carry out detailed assessments for different types of disaster. These cover natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and cyclones, and human-made hazards such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, industrial accidents and infrastructure failures. Each assessment identifies vulnerabilities, analyses potential impacts and sets priorities for risk mitigation.
We also produce detailed risk maps that show the spatial distribution of risks and vulnerabilities. The maps highlight hazard-prone areas, population exposure, critical infrastructure and resource needs. Decision-makers, emergency responders and community stakeholders use them for planning and preparedness.
Combining advanced technologies with expertise in risk assessment methods, CDPRR helps organisations and communities understand and reduce the risks they face, so they are safer and better prepared when disasters strike. Our article on flood mitigation in North Bihar shows how mapping and modelling can guide flood management.
What a disaster risk assessment and mapping study involves
An assessment starts with the hazards a place actually faces, not a generic list. For a district in the Gangetic plains that may mean river flooding, embankment breaches, waterlogging and drainage failure. For an industrial belt it may mean chemical storage, transport routes and the population living close to them. We work through the hazard, the exposure of people and assets, and the vulnerability that turns one into the other.
The work draws on satellite imagery, remote sensing, drone surveys, field data and existing government records. Where historical data is available, past events are used to test whether a model reflects what has actually happened on the ground.
What the maps show
Risk maps set out hazard-prone areas, the population exposed to them, the critical infrastructure in the path, and where resources will need to go. A map that shows which schools, health centres and roads sit inside a likely inundation zone is more useful to a district officer than a general statement that an area floods.
The output is designed to be used. Decision-makers use it for planning and budgeting, emergency responders for pre-positioning and evacuation routes, and community groups for local preparedness. Where it helps, the layers are brought together in a GIS-based decision support system so that the information can be updated rather than left to date.
Where this has been applied
Our article on flood mitigation in North Bihar shows how sediment surveys, riverbed monitoring and wetland storage data can be combined to inform flood management decisions. The same approach applies to urban flooding, river erosion, landslides and industrial hazards.
Assessment is usually the first step rather than the last. Clients often follow it with community-based preparedness programmes, training workshops or recovery planning. To discuss an assessment for your district or organisation, contact us.
The global framework this work sits within is the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.