Mapping Environments and Exposures of the World

Disaster system, a dynamic system on the earth’s surface with complex characteristics, is composed of natural hazards, exposures, environments and disaster losses. Disaster losses and damages are consequences of the interactions of hazards, exposures and the environmental system in which disasters occur. Environments mainly refer to physical environments that are cradles for physical hazards, namely geology, landform, climate, hydrology, vegetation and soil. Exposures mainly include social and economic elements, such as population and livestock density, land use, social wealth, gross domestic products and urbanization level.