WiRē Approach Videos
For more than a decade, Wildfire Research (WiRē) team members have been applying social solutions to the natural phenomenon of wildfire with great success. Now they’ve released a series of videos that share their approach. The series of three minute videos describe how community-specific data can be paired with physical data to provide tailored risk-reduction suggestions; how to work with communities to use this customized information to the best advantage; and how, ultimately, these efforts can result in increased wildfire adaptation, wildfire program savings, and more effective government policies.
NFIP Affordability Framework
In recent years, attempts to make the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) more solvent by offering risk-based premiums have met with opposition—in part because of the financial burden it places on low-income policyholders. This framework, created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the request of Congress, uses analysis data to help policymakers determine which populations are the most strained and better understand how to provide targeted assistance to those groups.
EQ Zapp
If you’re considering buying property in California—or maybe just calling it home for a night—it might be interesting to know if you’re in an earthquake hazards zone. Now a new app makes that possible. EQ Zapp was developed by the California Geological Survey using data that maps potential fault ruptures, liquefaction, and quake-induced landslides . Although the app can’t tell you if your home will shake or if it lies on an unmapped fault, it can tell you if the property sits within one of the mapped hazards zones—which are more likely to experience ground failure during an earthquake—or if the area is still unmapped. The app is available for computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Copernicus Emergency Management Service
The European Union has given European emergency managers a powerful set of tools to prepare for and respond to disasters, issue emergency warnings, and monitor ongoing events. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service is a recently launched piece of the EU’s broader Copernicus Programme. This portion of the program combines satellite remote sensing, open data sources, and situational reports to generate on-demand maps, as well as risk and recovery mapping. The result is a suite of information products that managers can employ to address issues that range from flooding to wildfires to risk reduction challenges. Visit the website to see more about how the service has been applied.