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| FEMA Hazus | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hazus |
| Developer | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| Initial release | 2000 |
| Programming language | ArcGIS |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| License | Proprietary |
FEMA Hazus is a standardized loss-estimation methodology and software package designed for assessing potential impacts from earthquake, flood, hurricane, and other natural hazards to the built environment, population, and infrastructure. It integrates geospatial analysis, engineering models, and hazard science to support risk assessment for Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Geological Survey, Department of Homeland Security, and state and local emergency managers. The tool is used by practitioners from agencies such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Transportation (United States), Environmental Protection Agency, and international partners including United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Hazus provides scenario- and probabilistic-based estimates of physical damage, economic loss, debris generation, and social impact for hazards including earthquake, flood, and hurricane. The system leverages geospatial frameworks pioneered in ArcGIS and incorporates hazard models comparable to those used by Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, USGS ShakeMap, and National Hurricane Center storm surge analyses. Outputs feed planning and mitigation activities for programs such as National Flood Insurance Program, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, and regional resilience initiatives led by entities like Metropolitan Transportation Authority or Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Development began in the late 1990s with funding and coordination among Federal Emergency Management Agency, USGS, and academic partners including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Washington. Early versions grew from earthquake loss-estimation research at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the California Geological Survey. Major milestones include integration with ArcGIS in the 2000s, incorporation of flood modules following Hurricane Katrina, and updates to wind models after studies by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Collaborative improvements have involved partnerships with FEMA Region X, FEMA Region II, United Kingdom Met Office (method transfer), and international exercises run with World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Hazus uses engineering fragility and vulnerability curves, derived from studies at National Institute of Standards and Technology, Multihazard Mitigation Council, and research by Applied Technology Council. Earthquake modules use spectral response parameters similar to those in ASCE 7 and attenuation relationships like those from Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) studies. Flood modules implement depth-damage functions analogous to approaches in FEMA Flood Insurance Study products and leverage hydrodynamic modeling techniques used by US Army Corps of Engineers. Hurricane storm surge and wind damage models reflect methods developed by NOAA National Hurricane Center and peer-reviewed work published in journals such as Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America and Journal of Flood Risk Management.
Hazus requires inventories of building stock, infrastructure, and demographics, commonly sourced from U.S. Census Bureau datasets, County Assessor records, National Structure Inventory, National Bridge Inventory, and remote-sensing products from Landsat and National Land Cover Database. Hazard inputs use seismic hazard maps from USGS National Seismic Hazard Model, floodplain delineations from FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map, and wind fields from HURDAT2 and National Center for Atmospheric Research. Critical infrastructure data may integrate feeds from Department of Energy, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and utilities such as Con Edison or Pacific Gas and Electric Company when available.
Planners and emergency managers apply Hazus outputs for mitigation planning tied to Hazard Mitigation Grant Program submissions, risk communication for community resilience initiatives, and capital investment prioritization for transportation agencies like Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Caltrans. Public health practitioners from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention use population impact estimates for surge capacity planning in hospitals such as Mayo Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital. International development agencies World Bank and Asian Development Bank employ Hazus-style workflows for disaster risk reduction in projects spanning Indonesia, Philippines, and Caribbean nations.
Critics note that Hazus relies on generalized fragility curves and national-level inventories that may misrepresent local conditions, an issue highlighted in post-event reviews of Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Its dependence on ArcGIS imposes licensing costs that constrain adoption by small jurisdictions and NGOs, as debated in forums involving OpenStreetMap advocates and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. Uncertainties in inputs from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and National Land Cover Database propagate into loss estimates, prompting calls for integration of higher-resolution datasets from Light Detection and Ranging campaigns and municipal parcel data. Scholars from Columbia University and University of Cambridge have published comparative critiques recommending ensemble approaches and transparent uncertainty quantification.
Implementation typically involves collaboration between local emergency management offices (e.g., New York City Emergency Management Department), state emergency management agencies such as California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and academic partners like Texas A&M University and University of California, Los Angeles. FEMA and partner organizations provide workshops, webinars, and curricula delivered with training partners including Red Cross, National Emergency Management Association, and university-based centers like Natural Hazards Center. Professional development pathways link to certifications from American Society of Civil Engineers and continuing education through institutions such as Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Management Institute.
Notable applications include scenario analyses used in post-Katrina recovery planning for New Orleans, seismic loss estimates informing retrofit policies in San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County, and hurricane surge risk assessments for the Gulf Coast prepared for Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. International adaptations supported by World Bank informed resilience projects in Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, while earthquake scenario planning in Tokyo drew on comparative methodologies from Hazus-style frameworks. Academic-case collaborations involved studies by Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center and retrospective validation exercises using data from the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Category:Disaster risk reduction