13th International Training Course on GIS for Disaster Risk Management

COURSE OVERVIEW

The rapid population growth and urbanization combined with extreme climatic events are causing a swift increase in vulnerability of communities to hazardous events. Unplanned growth both in urban and non-urban areas calls for preparation to reduce the impact of disasters, and there is a great need to utilize disaster risk information in designing effective coping mechanisms.

Disaster risk information is spatial in nature and geographic information systems (GIS) play an important role in disaster risk assessment and management. There is a need to create awareness among disaster management professionals regarding the importance of utilizing GIS.

The curriculum for this course has been re-designed jointly by ADPC, Asian Institute of Technology, the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation of the University of Twente, Netherlands, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research's Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT), with the aim of providing an overview of the use of spatial information in disaster risk management.

The course not only explains what spatial data is and how it is collected, but also emphasizes on the use of the data during pre- and post-disaster management such as in early warning systems and hazard-, vulnerability-, risk-, and damage assessments as well as in the design of risk reduction measures.

COURSE CONTENT

Module 1: Core/basic information

• Basic concepts and terminologies of disaster management
• Basic concepts of geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing
• Introduction to spatial information
• Handling spatial information (introduction to ArcGIS)

Module 2: Post-disaster impact and damage analysis

• The use of satellite imagery for disaster relief and recovery
• The use of satellite imagery for disaster relief and recovery
• Building damage assessment

Module 3: Pre-disaster risk assessment

• Hazard assessment
• Elements at risk and vulnerability assessment
• Types and methods of risk assessment, risk evaluation, cost and benefit analysis

Module 4: Risk information for risk reduction planning

• Risk evaluation
• Visualization of risk information
• Risk information and spatial planning

Module 5: Mini projects