Journal of Natural Disaster Science

NATURAL DISASTERS: WHAT ARE PLANNERS' INFORMATION NEEDS? Survey on Natural Disaster's Information Necessities for Urban and Regional Planning

Jose M. Sato
Urban Disaster Prevention Laboratory University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba

(Received 24 September, 1996 and in revised form 4 March, 1997)

Abstract

Why is natural disaster information neglected, or only seldom used, in urban/regional planning? This question is the basis of this paper, and to answer it a survey-questionnaire was used.

One drawback is the lack of availability of open information, i.e. base data; but, even processed data resulting in "hazard", "vulnerability", or "risk" assessments in various media do not reach the final users properly (not easy to interpret, inadequate level of detail, or it cannot be applied directly), as well as the uncertainty of the actual size of a probable disaster. Mutual understanding is required: The information provider must know the user's necessities, and the user must understand the received information.

Of the types of necessary information, "vulnerability assessment" is the key element for planning, particularly for land use and development planning. Results of our survey show that the preferred ways to present this information are: according to each hazard, administrative boundaries, and the expert's "recommendatory" index.

Information and budget constraints limit the achievable level of vulnerability assessment, and each planning stage requires a particular level of information. A suitable vulnerability assessment methodology that makes use of available resources is vital, and the results of this survey provide important input toward this goal.

Key words

natural disasters, vulnerability assessment, urban and regional planning