A risk based approach for the assessment of natural hazards in the UAE
Abstract
Civil developments have raised the necessity for conducting natural hazards risk assessment. This study employs the method of risk matrix applied on natural hazards for seismic, flooding and tsunami. In addition to the former hazards, Dust-Sand Storms “DSS” and climate change have been assessed in a form of context discussion. DSS assessment in particular is a vital element in terms of evaluating the natural hazards. This issue is unique and site specific for the UAE. The screening of a variety of information from different advanced countries identified that they do not consider DSS within their risk assessments. This study has been conducted using mainly the risk matrix as the primary assessment tool combining the probability of occurrences and severity.
Several risk matrices are developed to accumulate all historical, scientific and other global data that is used for the comparison of risk levels between the UAE and the rest of the world. In this work, the susceptibility of regions to natural hazards has been taken into account under the aspects of historical events recorded with respect to the geographical location. Vulnerable regions are represented through hazard maps as a result of the risk assessment. The overall outputs show encouraging results in some regions of the UAE. Although the assessment presents lower risk regions, it should be emphasized that minimizing the uncertainty by acquiring more historical data is required.
About this article
References
United States Geological Survey USGS, 2003. Geological Hazards Science Center. [online] available at: https://geohazards.usgs.gov/ [Accessed 28, April 25, 2012]
HSE,2005“REVIEW OF HAZARD IDENTIFICAION TECNIQUES” [online] available at:
www.hse.gov.uk/research/hsl_pdf/2005/hsl0558.pdf [Accessed 28, April 2012]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration USA, NOAA, 2010. U.S Flood. [online] available at: http://www.noaa.gov/ [Accessed 30, April, 2012]
Ambler, H 2003 Environmental Security and Global Stability. Problems and Responses. Parametres. {E-journal } Vol. 33. Issue: 4. available through Questia online library, [Accessed 6, May, 2012]
View more references (33)
H. Baker, 2008. Tsunami hazards along the coasts of the United Arab Emirates. [online] available at: www.iahr.net [Accessed 14, May, 2012]
Rodgers, 2005.Seismic Monitoring for the United Arab Emirates. [online] available at: http://www.osti.gov/ [Accessed 15, May, 2012]
Kazmi, 2011. Seismic activity 'not worrisome'. [online] available at: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/seismic-activity-not-worrisome-1.765673 [Accessed 18, May, 2012]
De Villiers, 2005.Dust Storms in Abu Dhabi. [online] available at: www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.42/pdf [Accessed 21, May, 2012]
World Health Organization, 2007.Flood Hazard Distribution Map. [online] available at: www.emro.who.int/eha/pdf/are_flood.pdf [Accessed 18, May, 2012]
USGS, 2010. Geological Hazard Science Centre. [online] available at: https://geohazards.usgs.gov/deaggint/2002/documentation/parm.php
[Accessed 30, May, 2012]
USGS, 2011. Earthquake Hazards Program. [online] available at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/background.php#intmaps [Accessed 2, Jun, 2012]
Arabia. 2012. Encyclopaedia Britannica. [online] available at:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31551/Arabia/45278/Geology[Accessed 8, Jun, 2012]
Jamal A. ABDALLA and Azm AL-HOMOUD, 2011. Earthquake hazard zonation of Eastern Arabia. [online] available at: www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/wcee/article/13_1008.pdf [Accessed 2, Jun, 2012]
G.W. Hughes, “The Great Pearl Bank Barrier of the Southern Arabian Gulf - A Possible Analog for the Aptian Rudist Banks of the Arabian Peninsula,” Quaternary Deserts and Climatic Change, (Ed. by A.S. Alsharhan, K.W. Glennie, G.L. Whittle, et al.), pp. 565- 582, Balkema, Rotterdam, 1998.
European Commission, 2010. Risk Assessment and Guidelines for disaster management. [online] available at: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/10/st17/st17833.en10.pdf [Accessed 2, Jun, 2012]
Vanessa Cançado*, Lucas Brasil, Nilo Nascimento, André Guerra, 2008. Flood risk assessment in an urban area: Measuring hazard and vulnerability [online] available at: www.web.sbe.hw.ac.uk/staffprofiles/bdgsa/11th...on...CD/.../699.pdf [Accessed 4, Jun, 2012]
Jordan, 2008. “Tsunamis of the Arabian Peninsula: A Guide of Historic Events,” Science of Tsunami Hazards, Vol. 27, No. 1, page 31, United Arab Emirates University. [online] available at: http://tsunamisociety.org/271Jordan.pdf , [Accessed 7, Jun,2012]
R. Jordan, 2008. “Tsunami Hazards and Mitigation along the Coasts of the United Arab Emirates,” Department of Geology, United Arab Emirates University. [online] available at: http://emp.byui.edu/JordanB/PDFs/Abstract6.pdf [Accessed 9, Jun, 2012]
J. Kämpf and M. Sadrinasab, “The Circulation of the Persian Gulf: A Numerical
Study,” Ocean Science, No. 2, pp. 27-41, Copernicus GmbH, Germany, July 2006
Alastair Dale, Ruth Goodall and Marc Pinnell. 2008. Flood Probability. Do we know enough about it or does it just confuse the issue? [online] available at: www.hydrology.org.uk/Publications/exeter/48.pdf [Accessed 15, Jun, 2012]
G.A. Cooper, R.J. Falvey, “1975-2008 Annual Tropical Cyclone Report,” ed. by M.Vancas, Chapter 2, United States Naval Maritime Forecast Center/Joint Typhoon
Warning Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 2008.
Vijay.P. Singh. “Water resources system operation” Water and Environmental, No. 1, pp. 31-33, Mumbai, 2003
Chowdhury F, 2010. Climate change. [online] available at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/December/theuae_December652.xml§ion=theuae&col [Accessed 20, Jun, 2012]
William W. Dougherty, 2009. Climate change impact, vulnerability and adaption. [online] available at: www.sei-us.org/...PDF/SEI-EAD ImpactVulnerabilityAdaptation-09.pdf [Accessed 29, Jun, 2012]
Congressional Research Service CRS, 2009. The United Arab Emirates Nuclear Program and Proposed US Nuclear Regulation. [online] available at: www.fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/135951.pdf [Accessed 4, Jul, 2012]
Latfy, 2007. Using remote sensing and GIS for damage assessment after flooding, the case of Muscat, Oman after Gonu tropical cyclone 2007: Urban planning perspective. . [online] available at: www.corp.at/archive/CORP2010_182.pdf [Accessed 4, Jul, 2012]
Yeon-Sik Kim *, Ki-Yong Choi, Hyeon-Sik Park, Seok Cho, Bok-Deug Kim, Nam-Hyeon Choi, Won-Pil Baek. 2008. Commissioning of the ATLAS thermal-hydraulic integral test facility. [online] available at: www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~ernesto/F2011/EP/.../Kim2008.pdf
[Accessed 17, Jul, 2012]
Sylvia Szabo, 2011. The Water Challenge in the UAE. [online] available at:
www.dsg.ae/en/Publication/Pdf_En/127201212127404843750.pdf [Accessed 30, Aug, 2012]
Richard Walker, 2005. A remote sensing study of active folding and faulting in southern Kerman province, S.E. Iran. [online] available at: http://oxford.academia.edu/RichardWalker/Papers/1159463/A_remote_sensing_study_of_active_folding_and_faulting_in_southern_Kerman_province_SE_Iran [Accessed 31, Aug, 2012]
Jack Watson, Leland Hardy, Tom Cordell, Susan Cordell, Ed Minch and Carl Pachek. 1995. How Water Moves Through the Soil. [online] available at: gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Shober/Water%20Movement%20Guide.pdf [Accessed 31, Aug, 2012]