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WebSAFE: Developing an Online Exposure and Risk Assessment Tool for the Philippines — Ivan Lester Saddi, Ramon Ayco Jr

FOSS4G

FOSS4G

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WebSAFE (Web-based Scenario Assessment for Emergencies) is an impact assessment tool used in the Philippines to calculate the needs of a community considering the effects of a particular hazard. DOST-Project NOAH and The World Bank partnered in developing WebSAFE to increase the country's disaster preparedness measures. Using Project NOAH's LiDAR and IFSAR-based flood, landslide, and storm surge hazard maps for the whole country and OpenStreetMap information, WebSAFE aims to aid Local Government Units in their response toward disasters. A community of volunteer mappers for disaster risk reduction, called MapaSalba (a local pun that loosely translates to "to save using maps"), was also started last year to encourage local participation and enrich the OpenStreetMap database. All of these efforts were shown to contribute to the Philippines's generally improved disaster preparedness and over-all decline in human and economic losses from disasters for the past two years. WebSAFE uses InaSAFE API, a free and open source plugin for QGIS software. With the help of its developers, we modified and developed it into a web application. Project NOAH envisions a disaster-free Philippines where communities are empowered through open access to accurate, reliable and timely hazard and risk information.

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