Hazard Mitigation, Risk Analysis, and Mapping

In this course, students will be introduced to methodological and practical issues involved in carrying out spatial analyses when planning for (and emerging from) an emergency or disaster. The course is, therefore, composed of lectures, discussions, and technical exercises pertaining to data collection, analysis, and interpretation for disaster management. Along with demonstrating the analytical capability of GIS for planning, risk, and vulnerability assessment, this course introduces students to different tools required in hazard mitigation, risk analysis, and mapping. Rather than employ a simple hazard-by-hazard approach, the course will integrate perspectives from the physical and social sciences to identify and describe risk, vulnerability, and disaster resilience with spatial analytical techniques, empirical data, and real-world examples.

The course also assumes that students have some experience with GIS and basic statistics, along with an interest in disaster management.