The Path Forward

The New Zealand Government is funding RiskScape Phase II to further develop and ehance the tool’s functionality and capabilities until at least 2016. Importantly, during Phase II a fully operational Riskscape model prototype is available to RiskScape users to test and determine how the model outputs can assist their natural hazard management requirements.

The RiskScape Phase II work programme includes:

Expanding the range of hazard models available to include:

The development and expansion of asset data, including:

• The development of a default building attribute database for all of New Zealand based on the Quotable Value (QV) New Zealand building dataset.
• The addition of building attribute data held by local governments to replace default building attribute data when accuracy is higher.
• Investigation of new techniques to rapidly collect building attribute information (e.g. remote sensing).

The refinement and/or calibaration of hazard impacts, including:

• The undertaking of post-event impact surveys to refine or expand fragility functions in the vulnerability module.
• Extending the fragility functions available for indirect losses and intangible impacts.
• The development of an approach to incorporate distributed networks (e.g. power, water, telecommunications) into the system along with a method to factor the imapcts from network interdependencies.
• The provision of probalisitic modelling and uncertainty bounds.

Improvement of Riskscape's software and end-user uptake, including:

• A centralised version-contol and license arragement system to provide users with consistent software updates and a helpdesk.
• Riskscape user secured asset data entry (with version control).
• Secure access to hazard models and asset databases.
• The reporting of model results to multiple environments (e.g. screen, report (pdf, MS Word), Google Earth, GIS).
• An administration function to view the hazard exposure and impacts to individual assets from a model run. 
• A web version of RiskScape.
• The reporting of multiple damage states (i.e. undamaged buildings through to complete collapse; uninjured through to fatalities; various cost components and population displacement components). 
• The development of an asset mitigation tool providings users with the ability to change asset attributes to reduce asset exposure to natural hazards.
• The continous egagement with current and potential RiskScape users across New Zealand to encourage model trails, uptake and refinement to suit local imapct and risk modeling requirements.

In future, RiskScape developers will continue to shape the tool into a useful and successful resource for natural hazard management professionals. To achieve this RiskScape will work closely with is current partner regions and bring new partner regions and organisations into the program to ensure user expectations are being met. The RiskScape team then encourges local governments and private organisations to join the program as a user and assist incorporate their own hazard models and asset datasets into the RiskScape system to begin natural hazard impact and risk modeling. The supply of these datasets by new partners is essential for the RiskScape project to improve and become a sustainable tool for natural hazard management in New Zealand.

The RiskScape team encourages all persons or organisations interested in using the model to register as a RiskScape user and download the latest model prototype upon recieveing a FREE two month license. We value your feedback on the RiskScape model and encourage you to try the prototype and send us your ideas on enhancing the models functionality or its ability to support your natural hazard management or research requirements.