Geospatial Modeling to Identify Populations Vulnerable to Natural Hazards

Abstract – A geospatial model has been developed to identify areas of human population vulnerable to natural hazards. These areas tend to be locations where disasters have occurred frequently, and populations lack the social and economic infrastructure to mitigate or adequately respond to effects of disaster events. In this paper we examine an application of this model in continental Africa. An evaluation of the AVHRR Land Pathfinder database and time series precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Center was undertaken to identify anomalies indicative of adverse natural conditions. These conditions were used to modulate the vulnerability index to identify vulnerable populations.