Distance course in multi-hazard risk assessment

This distance education course deals with the procedures to collect, analyse and evaluate spatial information for risk assessment from natural and human-induced hazards (such as flooding, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, cyclones, forest fires, land degradation, and technological hazards). Risk is defined as the expected losses as a result of potentially damaging phenomena within a given time period, and within a given area.

The course focuses on practical exercises for the procedures involved in multi-hazard risk assessment, supplemented with theory and exercises using the internet and Excel. The exercises are centred around a comprehensive case study on the use of geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing for the assessment of hazard, vulnerability and risk in a typical urban area representative of situations in many developing countries, called RiskCity. The course contains a number of choice options for evaluating particular types of hazards and their associated risk, depending on your interest and background. The course is made for the open source GIS software ILWIS (Integrated Land and Water Information Systems).

The course is composed of a number of sessions. Each session has a PowerPoint presentation and document introducing the topic of the session. Each session has also exercises and assignments including maps or materials to be handed in. The course is based on a study load of 1 module of 3 weeks (5 ECTS), which in distance form, is offered during a period of 6 weeks. Below is a summary of the sessions and detailed content.

Session 0: Getting started

Theory: Set up Blackboard account, install ILWIS software, getting to know the tutors and fellow students.

Session 1: Introduction to risk assessment

Theory: Introduction to disaster risk management and risk assessment.
Exercise: Generation of a hazard profile using disaster databases; Introduction to ILWIS, and introduction to the RiskCity dataset. Learn the various hazard problems by evaluating high resolution images.

Session 2: Obtaining spatial data for risk assessment

Theory: Presentation of data requirements for the various types of hazards. Sources of spatial data.
Excercises: Defining spatial data requirements for risk assessment; Internet search for information on risk assessment; acquiring free and low cost data; generating three dimensional image data using Google Earth; stereo image interpretation.

Session 3: Hazard Assessment

Theory: Hazard types; Main concepts of hazard assessment; Frequency magnitude – relationships.
Excercises: Frequency assessment; Selection of hazard assessment example (flooding, landslides, earthquakes, technological hazards, volcanic hazards etc).

Session 4: Elements at risk assessment

Theory: Types of elements at risk; classification of buildings, infrastructure, lifelines, critical facilities; population information; collection of elements at risk information.
Excercises: Generating an elements at risk database from scratch; Generating an elements at risk database using available data (building footprint map, census data and LiDAR).

Session 5: Vulnerability assessment

Theory: Types of vulnerability; social vulnerability; physical vulnerability; methods for vulnerability assessment; participatory GIS; Spatial Multi Criteria Evaluation.
Excercises: Defining vulnerability curves; Spatial Multi-criteria evaluation for vulnerability assessment.

Session 6: Risk assessment

Theory: Loss estimation models; HAZUS; qualitative risk assessment; QRA; basics of flood risk, seismic risk, landslide and technological risk assessment.
Exercises: Creating risk curves; Selection of risk assessment method: flooding, earthquakes, landslides, technological.

Session 7: Risk management

Theory: Risk evaluation; risk governance; risk communication; cost benefit analysis; Using risk information for emergency planning; spatial planning, and Environmental Impact Assessment.
Excercises: Multi-hazard risk assessment for buildings; assessing economic losses; Cost benefit analysis.

Session 8: Final project and examination

Discussion: How to do such a study in your area?
Final project: Selection of project topic related to risk assessment and its use in risk management.
Examination: Multiple choice exam.


The course will guide the participants through the entire process of risk assessment, on the basis of a case study of a city exposed to multiple hazards, in a developing country (RiskCity).

At the end of this course you will be able to:

* understand the concepts of hazard assessment, elements at risk mapping, vulnerability assessment, and risk assessment;
* formulate the spatial data requirements for risk assessment;
* generate an elements at risk data base using GIS;
* formulate the requirements of hazard data and methods;
* apply various methods for vulnerability assessment;
* generate risk maps using qualitative and quantitative methods;
* have insight in how a risk assessment could be carried out in your own situation;