FEMA, in partnership with organizations that collectively represent the emergency management profession, released today the fourth video presentation from the inaugural PrepTalks Symposium, Dr. Robert Chen’s “Who’s at Risk? Rapid Mapping of Potential Hazards.”
View in FEMA Multimedia Library
In his PrepTalk, Dr. Chen outlines the different ways data mapping can be used to help emergency managers identify those at risk before, during, and after a disaster. He demonstrates how geospatial data combined with socioeconomic data gives emergency managers, the news media, and the public a better understanding of what the risk is and the potential associated effects of disasters.
“It’s always good to [use maps to] explain where population centers are and who is vulnerable,” said Dr. Chen, the Director of the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), a unit of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Dr. Chen also manages the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC); part of NASA’s network of Earth Science Data Centers.
Dr. Chen’s presentation, a discussion guide, and additional reference materials are available at https://www.fema.gov/preptalks.
This is the fourth video of eight being produced from the PrepTalks Symposium held in Washington, D.C. in January. The next PrepTalks Symposium is tentatively scheduled for fall of 2018.
Upcoming PrepTalk video topics include land use planning for community resilience and disaster risk in developing countries. The next PrepTalks video is currently scheduled for release later in March.
PrepTalks are a partnership between FEMA, the International Association of Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management Association, the National Homeland Security Consortium, and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
