290212 VO Scientific Progress in Risk Assessment and Disaster Management (2012S)

This course deals with the procedures to collect, analyse and evaluate spatial information for risk assessment from natural and human-induced hazards (such as geological hazard, hydrometeorological hazards, environonmetal hazards and technological hazards). The course will guide you 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;

Some basic background in Geographic Information Systems is desirable, although not strictly required, as the course follows a step-by-step approach which allows participants to rapidly acquire the basic skills in handling GIS software. The course is given using Open Source GIS software (ILWIS).