From Data to Decision Making: Supporting Flood Monitoring and Warning in Vietnam

Colin Lindeman
David Askov
Pacific Disaster Center, Kihei, HI

Disaster Management and Emergency Response I
Monday March 5, 2012 - 10:45 am to noon

In 2011, over 9 million people in Southeast Asia were affected by what were called the worst floods in more than 50 years. However, Vietnam and other countries in the region suffer economic and human losses every year as a result of flooding. Under funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) deployed VinAWARE, a web-based early warning and decision support system which was specifically designed for Vietnam, at the beginning of the 2011 storm season.　 The system was intended for use at national and provincial levels and the pilot focused on the coastal provinces of central Vietnam. This presentation will illustrate how dynamic meteorological data and model outputs were transformed into customized flood hazard notifications and meaningful information products used to support disaster management decision making. VinAWARE, like PDC’s flagship technology DisasterAWARE, enables users to analyze, integrate and share hazard information and other relevant data such as infrastructure and population through a web-based interface.