Dasymetric stratification of a flood plain: development and refinement of the HAZUS flood mapping tool for Canada

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Date
2016
Authors
Howells, Angela
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Abstract
The high frequency and cost of flooding in Canada has demonstrated the need for effective risk assessment (Public Safety Canada (PSC), 2010). In response to this need, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed HAZUS, a hazard risk assessment tool which relies on a geographic information system (GIS) (FEMA, 2015). Unfortunately, in many rural communities in Canada, only aggregate population data may be available. In those cases, the ability to further partition aggregated data may prove essential in generating robust and accurate risk assessments. The results of this study show that HAZUS can be adapted for use in Canada and provides a new methodology for conducting hazard estimations in areas where available data is coarsely aggregated. There was a strong relationship between nighttime light and population density. High populations were associated with developed land cover classification. These relationships can be used to increase the accuracy of HAZUS predictions.
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Keywords
HAZUS, Dasymetric approach, Dasymetric, Dasymetric stratification, Land use classification, Nighttime light, Night-time light, Night time light, Risk assessment, Flood, Flood risk assessment, Emergency planning and management, Emergency planning
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