Natural Hazards—The Multihazard Approach

Abstract

The Natural Hazards Review promotes knowledge and technology toward the goal of reducing death and destruction due to natural disasters. Natural hazards such as earthquake, flood, and wind are generally perceived by many as quite different and unique natural phenomena, which in many ways they are. However, they are much alike in their impacts on humankind, such as casualties and the destruction of the built environment, and also in the framework for their analysis and mitigation. Whether it be an earthquake, flood, or hurricane, many of the issues of preparedness, land-use planning, regulation of the built environment, education of the public, emergency planning, and other aspects are the same or quite similar. As a result, it is being increasingly recognized that mitigation of one natural hazard in isolation is inefficient, and that an integrated multiple hazard, or multihazard, approach to natural disasters is required. This Special Theme issue of the Natural Hazards Review is devoted to the multihazard approach, in particular as embodied in HAZUS-MH, a software program released earlier this year by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that models wind, flood, and earthquake disasters and their effects on the built environment and society. HAZUS is a free advanced software package that states and local communities can use for estimating losses from disasters. The earthquake version of HAZUS has been in use since 1997, and was described in detail in the November 1997 edition of Earthquake Spectra. With the release of HAZUS, the Natural Hazards Review was chosen as the venue to feature the new multihazard technology version of HAZUS. This Special Theme issue begins with an article describing the history of the development of HAZUS. The core of the issue are articles on the methodologies supporting the hurricane, flood, and earthquake models. With this Special Theme issue of the Natural Hazards Review, it is the intent of the Co-Editors and the authors to disseminate information on multihazards analysis in general, and HAZUS in particular, to the academic and professional communities for the struggle against the effects of natural hazards. The Co-Editors wish to thank the Board of the Natural Hazards Review for affording an entire issue to this important topic.