The Role of GIS and Other Spatial Technologies in Natural Disaster Reduction

The central thesis of this paper is that more appropriate, accurate and current information on both hazard agents and the communities at risk is the key to reducing the impact of natural disasters. Over the two decades, 1976 to 1996, a wide range of technologies has been introduced to enhance the collection of information, especially on the hazard phenomenon. There has been, however, a significant lack of integration of these technologies and the information that they generate, especially in the emergency management field. The need for information integration has grown apace with the development of a risk-based view of emergency management in place of the traditional hazard-based view. This new and more holistic approach has been made possible by the application of geographic information systems (GIS) as an analytical and decision support tool.