Hazard interaction analysis for multi-hazard risk assessment: a systematic classification based on hazard-forming environment

Publication Year: 2016

Access: Open

Link: https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-629-2016

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Description:

A systematic hazard interaction classification framework based on the characteristics of the hazard-forming environment developed by Liu et al. (2016) for use in Multi-Hazard Risk Assessments (MHRA). The aim of the classification framework is to help identify all possible hazard interactions among hazards that may influence an area as a first step in a multi-hazard risk assessment. It also enables the calculation of the probability and magnitude of multiple interacting hazards. The first step of the framework is the classification of geophysical environmental factors in the hazard-forming environment into ‘stable and ‘trigger’ factors for hazard identification. Stable factors in the context of the classification are those that form the background conditions for the occurrence of hazards, such as tectonic setting, whilst trigger factors are those that vary over short timescales e.g., meteorological conditions. The classification first uses stable factors to identify the hazard types that may influence an area, then the trigger factors are used to categorise the relationships between different hazards into four types: independent, mutually exclusive (mutex), parallel and series. Frequency and magnitude can be measured using the trigger factors. An example demonstrating the application of the framework is available in Liu et al. (2016).

Technical Considerations:

The framework requires calculation of probabilities.

Key Words:

Multi-hazard risk; hazard interaction; risk assessment; triggering hazards