Enhancing disaster response planning with impact

mapping toolsCraig Arthur1, Saane ‘Ake2, Sachindra Singh3

1: Geoscience Australia, 2: National Emergency Management Office, Tonga, 3: Geosciences Division, SPC

What is PacSAFE?

Impact mapping tool

Overlays hazard

footprint and

exposure layer

Calculates numbers

of buildings, people

in hazard zones

What natural hazards can PacSAFE analyse?

Exposure layers that can be used

Buildings

People

Roads

Land cover

Developing capacity for disaster resilience• Updates to PacSAFE software –

impact functions for priority

hazards

• Training and deployment of

PacSAFE within NDMOs

• Hazard modelling training with

SPC

• Working in parallel with Pacific

Resilience Program to enable

SPC and PICs to integrate

PacSAFE into disaster

management operations

Training workshop 1 – Introduction to PacSAFEObjectives:

• Understand PacSAFE concepts

• Prepare data for analysis

• Run analysis and interpret outputs

• Able to explain the purpose of PacSAFE

Target audience:

• People responsible for developing disaster

management plans

• Representatives from NGOs working in disaster

risk reduction

Training workshop 1 – Participants

• National Emergency Management Office

• Tonga Meteorological Service

• Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources

• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Fisheries

• Statistics Department

• MEIDECC (Information Services)

What scenarios did we consider?Tsunami

Mw 8.7 earthquake on the Tonga

Trench

Tropical cyclone

Category 4 cyclone passing over

Tongatapu

Example outputs:

Structures affected by

tsunami

Simple zones indicating

hazard level (high,

medium, low)

Building points coloured

by hazard zone

Indicative number of

buildings in each zone

Example outputs:

Population affected by

tsunami

Simple zones indicating

hazard level (high,

medium, low)

Indicative number of

people in each zone

Impact reportsGeneral report

• Number of people affected

Minimum needs

• Requirements for relief items

Action checklist:

• Prompt for questions to be asked

by disaster managers

Breakdown by demographics

• Gender, age, etc.

Aggregated by village

Impacts of a major tsunami

Minimum needs report

Impacts of a major cyclone

Lessons from the first workshopThings that went well:

• Identified more barriers to using

the tool

• Packaged data works well

• Fundamental introduction to QGIS

• Bringing different groups together

across government

• Identified issues/improvements for

PacSAFE

Things that we can do better:

• Run more intro presentations at the

start (e.g. benefits of open data)

• Robust testing of the software prior

to workshop

• Make hard copies of documentation

• Can we make local language

versions of the user guide?

• Identify key buildings separately

• Only consider worst case scenario

(tsunami)

Next steps

Develop PacSAFE champions, to encourage use across government

Specific functionality enhancements – adding TC impacts on land cover,

population

Build regional capacity for hazard modelling to develop scenarios

Deployment in other countries – current engagement with Fiji

Standardisation of asset data, to enable use across risk tools

Phone: +61 2 6249 9111

Web: www.ga.gov.au

Email: clientservices@ga.gov.au

Address: Cnr Jerrabomberra Avenue and Hindmarsh Drive, Symonston ACT 2609

Postal Address: GPO Box 378, Canberra ACT 2601