Geo-information as an integral component of the National Disaster Hazard and vulnerability ATLAS

Abstract

The increase in the frequency of disasters and their associated damages globally is part of a worldwide trend, which results from growing vulnerability and may reflect changing climate patterns. Global risks seem to be increasing. These trends have significantly initiated the development and implementation of the National Disaster Hazard and Vulnerability Atlas. The main idea was to design and develop database-driven, web-enabled interactive virtual book (Atlas). It consists of various chapters, such as drought, flood, cyclones, storms, severe weather, and fires. Web-enabled GIS is used as the most important user communication interface for various hazards. User is able to submit input through maps. Results of various calculations, if spatially distributed, are returned back to user in form of GIS. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.