Natural Hazards Perspectives on Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked
(ICON) Science
Abstract
This article is composed of one integrated commentary about the state of
ICON principles (Goldman et al., 2021) in natural hazards and a
discussion on the opportunities and challenges of adopting them. Natural
hazards pose risks to society, infrastructure, and the environment.
Hazard interactions and their cascading phenomena in space and time can
further intensify the impacts. Natural hazards’ risks are expected to
increase in the future due to environmental, demographic, and
socioeconomic changes. It is important to quantify and effectively
communicate risks to inform the design and implementation of risk
mitigation and adaptation strategies. Multihazard multisector risk
management poses several nontrivial challenges, including: i) integrated
risk assessment, ii) Earth system data-model fusion, iii) uncertainty
quantification and communication, and iv) crossing traditional
disciplinary boundaries. Here, we review these challenges, highlight
current research and operational endeavors, and underscore diverse
research opportunities. We emphasize the need for integrated approaches,
coordinated processes, open science, and networked efforts (ICON) for
multihazard multisector risk management.