16 October 2019, Bucharest, Romania
DRMKC Risk Data Hub, GRRASP (Geospatial Risk and Resilience Assessment Platform) and RAPID-N (Rapid Natech Risk Analysis and Mapping System)
CONCEPT NOTE
Complex forms of decision-making need technological support for achieving Disaster Risk Management (DRM) objective of reducing risk. European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) plays an essential role in this domain, by introducing innovative methods, tools and technological solutions for the mitigation of disasters and their impacts. It is essential that the emerging technological developments match the needs of the users. For this reason, JRC’s Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) has foreseen the organization of a back-to-back session on the topic of DRM, to booster both technological innovation in this application area and the adoption of emerging methodologies at the national level.
The session is part of the 4th DRMKC Annual Seminar, co-organized with the Romanian Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) and hosted in Bucharest, Romania. On the morning of the 16th of October, we will discuss and assess the usability and applicability of three of JRC’s web-platforms related to Risk Management tasks, namely the DRMKC Risk Data Hub, GRRASP (Geospatial Risk and Resilience Assessment Platform), and RAPID-N (Rapid Natech Risk Analysis and Mapping System).
The DRMKC Risk Data Hub aims at becoming a tool for hosting systematically collected, comparable and robust disaster risk damage assessments and loss data (impact assessment). As such, it is meant to serve as an essential element and facilitator for the whole risk assessment and risk management cycle.
GRRASP is a World Wide Web oriented architecture bringing together geospatial technologies and computational tools for the analysis and simulation of critical infrastructures. This includes, notably, the case of complex networked systems, taking into consideration cross-sectoral and cross-border interdependencies. It can be used for assessing impacts at local, regional, national, and international levels.
RAPID‑N is a risk analysis system for technological accidents triggered by natural hazards (Natechs), which combines on-site natural hazard severity analysis, physical and functional damage assessment for industrial units, accident scenario development, and hazardous consequence modelling in a single tool. The system features an innovative data analysis framework, which allows automated data estimation, scalable analysis (i.e. local, regional, national) and case-specific dynamic modelling, which can be easily extended by users without need of technical knowledge.
A key objective of the session is to increase the collaboration with national/regional/local authorities and other institutions, aligning the development of the tools to the needs and concerns expressed at each level. To accomplish its objective, the workshop brings together technical and scientific experts with end users of the platforms, who have faced the main challenges related to data, knowledge and institutional practices while offering technological support for DRM. Showcases and feedback from national authorities and institutions will also be presented, as experienced throughout their interaction with the DRMKC Risk Data Hub, GRRASP and RAPID-N.
