Understanding Risk

A thorough understanding of existing vulnerabilities, including their location and severity, is critical for the development and prioritization of risk management investment programs. A broad range of activities contribute to the identification and understanding of natural hazard risks including hazard data collection and mapping, vulnerability assessments, risk assessments and post disaster assessments.

Examination of the vulnerabilities faced by the countries lays the foundation for physical and financial intervention. Developing hazard maps that pinpoint vulnerable areas can highlight regions that need to be strengthened with physical measures. Understanding where vulnerabilities lie and which infrastructure is weak can help governments prioritize physical interventions. Risk modeling adds robustness to this analysis by estimating the probability that hazard areas will be negatively affected by natural phenomena. Analyzing the resilience of government budgets when stressed by recovery and reconstruction needs following disasters provides an even broader view of risks faced by a country. Developing and maintaining communication and management information systems is central in this effort to study, examine and comprehend the full breadth of risks faced by the countries.