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Vanuatu National Action Plan
Key Action 6.1: Disaster and Hazard Inventory

VANUATU NATIONAL DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT OFFICE

2009

Christy Haruel, Steven Clegg, Michael Bonte

Vanuatu Disaster Inventory

PURPOSE

To improve understanding of where, how often
and how severe geological and hydro‐
meteorological disasters have occurred in the past
and are likely to occur in the future in order to
underpin and guide Vanuatu DRR activities and
investments in the future.

Vanuatu Disaster Inventory

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Analysis and mapping of national hotspots, areas
of high hazard exposure and high vulnerability
Provide a basis for decision makers, such as
development planners and NDRMO to design and
prioritize DRR initiatives and to inform public
awareness programs.
Develop sustainable tools and methods for
continued efforts in reporting hazard events in
Vanuatu

BACKGROUND

The Vanuatu NAP Task Force appointed by the

Government of Vanuatu to coordinate the development

and implementation of the NAP agreed on the following

priorities for implementation:

Strengthen national policy, legislation, operational and

decision making ‐ 1.4:
Strengthen the practice of DRR at all levels ‐ 4.5.1: Document

Traditional Knowledge

Improve the understanding of hazards, vulnerabilities, and

communities at risk – 6.1: Compile and monitor historical time

series data ‐ geological, hydrological and meteorological

Improve technological systems which impact on DRR and DM

– 7.1: Review and provide information and communication

systems on DRR and DM

Methodology

Research

Compile information from sources (data collection)

Data Evaluation

Review types and coverage of data

Evaluate Disaster Database Systems

Identify best tools to meet project objectives

DesInventar Disaster Inventory System

Develop Tools

Utilize GIS to integrate data into reporting and
monitoring tools

Data Collection

Hazard and disaster event data collected
from multiple sources

Vanuatu monitoring agencies

Meteorology, Geohazards Unit, NDRMO

International Monitoring and Reporting Sources

USGS, Universities, NGOs, CSOs

Media Sources

Newspapers, web articles, publications, Vanuatu
National Library and Cultural Centre

Data Evaluation

Determine how the data can be used
Establish methods of organizing information
Define thresholds to determine relevancy of
information

How will disaster information be
represented?

Values tied to geographic units (occurrence, cost, damages, etc.)

Disaster Reporting

Determining Resolution for disaster reporting

Disasters often reported by island or province

Provincial level does not provide enough information for local
decision making and detailed hazard risk analyses.
Vanuatu Islands are widely varied in physical size and
distribution, particular challenge for analysis
Village level is too small for disaster reporting,

Area Councils are best representation for
reporting resolution

Pre‐existing administrative boundaries established by the
Vanuatu Govt.,

Vanuatu Geographic Units

•

Vanuatu Disaster

Inventory is reported
at the Area Council
level, utilizing the 62
administrative units .

•

Using this

geographic unit
system, analysis can
be done at the Area
Council Level,
Provincial and also
National Levels,
providing
information for a
wide variety of users
and decision makers.

VANUATU DESINVENTAR

The development of DesInventar for Vanuatu
makes visible disasters at a determined scale
(province, area council, national) and facilitates
dialogue for risk management between actors,
institutions, sectors, provincial and national
governments.

Allows for compilation of historical disaster
information and provides a monitoring tool for
future events.

DesInventar Online

•

Vanuatu DesInventar can be accessed via

username and password from any internet
connection.

•

Registered users can have access limits to

information determined by the administrator

Vanuatu DesInventar

Data entry can be made directly through the
website or remotely from a formatted
spreadsheet

SAMPLE DATA CARD >

Vanuatu DesInventar

Quickly generate customized maps

Export to Google Earth
Print or insert in other documents and reports

Vanuatu Disaster Inventory

USING GIS FOR ANALYSIS

Vanuatu historical event data converted into GIS
data to perform in‐depth spatial analysis

Incorporated earthquake modeling methodology

developed from best practice, industry standards based on
geophysical modeling of earthquake surface intensities
(ground shaking)
Methods use real‐world (ground truth) data to verify modeling
Provides better understanding of what areas are potentially
affected

Vanuatu Disaster Inventory

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

‘seeing the data’

Vanuatu Hotspot Analysis

Maps and graphics produced to identify potential
disaster hotspots and impacts in Vanuatu

(example data only, not official reports)

HAZARD HOTSPOTS

SAMPLE MAPS :

RELATIVE FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE FOR SIGNIFICANT HAZARD EVENTS

Recommendations

Continue to supplement Vanuatu DesInventar historical
information and input future events

Identify dedicated hazard inventory officer(s)

Standardize reporting across sectors and monitoring
agencies, integrate document control procedures

Integrate DesInventar into other sectors (agriculture,
health, etc.)

Link Vanuatu DesInventar to regional programs (Pacific
Disaster Net, etc.)

Acknowledgments

Vanuatu National Disaster Risk Management Office
Vanuatu Geohazards Unit
Vanuatu Meteorology Service
Daisy Wheeler (Volcan, Inc.)
Alexis Cartwright‐Taylor (University College London)
Jhon Caicedo & Cristina Rosales, DesInventar Project
AusAID