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A Bespoke Approach to Quantifying the Impacts of Disasters, Using Stakeholder-relevant Metrics
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  • Chenbo Wang,
  • Fabrizio Nocera,
  • Gemma Cremen,
  • Carmine Galasso,
  • Vibek Manandhar,
  • Prayash Malla
Chenbo Wang
University College London

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Fabrizio Nocera
University College London
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Gemma Cremen
University College London
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Carmine Galasso
University College London
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Vibek Manandhar
National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal
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Prayash Malla
National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal
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Abstract

Disaster impact metrics (DIMs) are key outputs of natural-hazard risk models/assessments that provide a tangible way of communicating risk. However, typical DIMs are limited in that they tend to capture only direct damage/economic losses, be specifically designed for developed countries, account for just one snapshot in time, and be characterised for individual assets rather than systems. These shortcomings somewhat stem from a lack of understanding around the bespoke requirements of different stakeholders concerning disaster impact/risk assessments. Addressing these limitations, we propose a toolbox for characterising context-specific DIMs that capture relevant stakeholder priorities/requirements. The toolbox includes: (1) a comprehensive, holistic pool of DIMs developed from a literature review and a conceptual representation of societal dependencies; and (2) a stakeholder-centred framework for facilitating the appropriate selection of DIMs from this pool. We demonstrate the framework for Kathmandu, Nepal, revealing that the relative importance of a given disaster impact can change for different stakeholder groups and spatio-temporal dimensions. Impacts related to direct damage/economic losses are not the most crucial concern of the considered stakeholders. Higher priority is placed on characterising accessibility impacts around utilities and social networks, for instance. This work contributes to advancing the usefulness of natural-hazard risk assessments for important decision-making.
22 Mar 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
25 Mar 2024Published in ESS Open Archive