Yosefa Ehrlich
Intro to GIS- Project 7
Hurricane Vulnerability in Cape Cod, MA
1) Hazard assessments are common and important in areas that are susceptible to
natural disasters by virtue of their environment. This project will be an exercise in
vulnerability analysis. Vulnerability analysis answers the following questions:
a. Which groups of people are must vulnerable during a disaster?
b. What are the greatest local hazards in a community?
c. What areas are most vulnerable to disaster in a certain community?
Specific focus will be placed on Cape Cod, MA. As water levels rise and weather
conditions become more variable, islands and peninsulas will be at the greatest
risk to water induced disasters like hurricanes.
This project will mirror typical vulnerability analyses by addressing the same
questions. It will also take the analysis one step further by looking at accessibility
to emergency services like hospitals and police stations.
2)
Literature Reviews/ Examples:
A) Identifying and Mapping Community Vulnerability
Betty Hearn Morrow Disasters,1999, 23(1):1-18
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119077607/PDFSTART
The key variables in hazard vulnerability are social constructs. Using
examples from previous disasters this paper illustrates how certain demographics
(elderly, poor, large families, women-headed families) are at greater risk during disasters.
These factors must be most closely monitored and assessed by city planners. GIS is cited
as a powerful tool for keeping track of vulnerable groups. Further, it has preemptive
potential to indicate high-need areas before disaster strikes, anticipate needs, and indicate
emergency response resources.
B) Assessing the Vulnerability of the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Coastal Storms Using
an On-Line GIS-Based Coastal Risk Atlas By: Kelly Boyd, Rex Hervey, and Jason
Stradtner
http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/cra/Papers/vuln_paper
The Coastal Risk Atlas website features this paper centering on methods
behind producing vulnerability maps. Vulnerability assessment (and mapping) revolves
around identifying hazard sources, locating high-risk communities and organizing
supporting infrastructure. The first step is identifying a community’s largest
environmental hazards. This information typically relies on climactic data like flood
zones and wind envelopes but can include topography. The second step is assessing
social vulnerability including poverty, type of home, age, and accessibility to
transportation. Finally, once all the data layers are added, you can conduct analyses by
comparing the sets of information to determine which groups really are most vulnerable
and in which communities.
C) Modeling the Effects of Hurricane Hazards in Yarmouth, MA: A Vulnerability
Assessment By: Michele Giorgianni
http://www.edc.uri.edu/staff/links/Yarmouth_Report_Final.pdf
Looking at one community in Cape Cod, MA, this paper explicitly
outlines tools used in GIS to assess hurricane vulnerability. Such an assessment can be
important in determining what aspects of the area would be most devastated during a
storm. Like the papers mentioned above, this analysis will follow the same steps of risk
ID in socially vulnerable areas; however, an interesting consideration was made here
using HAZUS-MH, economic risk assessment software. HAZUS-MH can be utilized
through GIS and accounts for the economic damage resulting after hurricanes and
disasters.
D) GIS and local knowledge in disaster management: a case study of flood
risk mapping in Viet Nam By: Phong Tran, Rajib Shaw, Guillaume Chantry and
John Norton Disaster, May, 2008 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgibin/fulltext/120122377/PDFSTART
Explains why GIS mapping is such an important tool in disaster
management. Hazard maps are capable of displaying clear representations of the
geographic locations of hazard sites. Having the information laid out visually also
provides an incentive for community planners to take preemptive action in readying some
of the most vulnerable neighborhoods before a pending disaster strikes. Finally, hazard
mapping provides clear pathways to planning by making visually available all the
resources at a community’s disposal.
- Provides a thorough methodology section
E) Coastal Risk Atlas (has maps, documents and tools)
http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/cra/doclibrary/document_view
3) The first step will be collecting the appropriate data layers. I already have access
to most of the information I’ll need via MassGIS, but I have some kinks to iron
out regarding block group vs. tract group for census data. There are some extra
data layers that would be interesting for this project like locations of past
hurricanes and their years.
Next, I will import all the data on top of a MassGIS basemap possibly with
orthophotos. Census data will be joined to by block or tract group.
I’ll probably use the field calculator to collapse information from social and
environmental vulnerability categories to establish a general vulnerability rating
for each. I may use selection and buffer tools to pinpoint areas that are most
vulnerable within ¼ mile for instance.
Ultimately I hope to turn out several maps assessing 1) environmentally
vulnerability areas (high hazard ID) 2) socially vulnerable pockets 3)
representation of available emergency resources.
4) Data Layers(MassGIS)
Infrastructure:
Schools
Police stations
Hospitals
Airports
Fire stations
Roads
Railroads
Land Use
│
Accuracy needed
+/- 5 meters
+/- 5 meters
+/- 5 meters
+/- 10 meters
+/- 5 meters
+/- 10 meters
+/- 10 meters
N/A
Social Vulnerability: (census data)
65 + years-old
Households with 6 + people
Income below $25,000 by family type
0% English by household language spoken
Access to public transportation (not sure where)
Buildings built before 1959 (not sure where)
Environmental Vulnerability: (physical resources)
Hydro 25K
Elevation
Wetlands
Flood zones
Impervious Cover
(NLCD)
+/- 20 meters
+/- 20 meters
+/- 20 meters
+/- 10 meters
+/- 25 meters
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A