Applications of geographical information systems and remote sensing in natural disaster harzard assessment and mitigation in Taiwan /

Includes bibliographical references.

Geographic Information Systems (GISs) provide a powerful tool in managing and analyzing spatial data. Geographic Information System has been applied successfully to a large variety of fields, one field of particular interest in the field of disaster mitigation. The island of Taiwan is well known for the typhoons and earthquakes which in the recent past have claimed lives and caused significant damage. It is well understood that hazard identification and land management play a major part in reducing the impact of natural disasters. This is a role GIS is well suited to especially when combined with remote sensing data. This concept has been used throughout the world for purposes including identification of risk areas, real-time modelling of events and scenario modelling. Where this has the greatest potential in Taiwan is in the steep and rugged mountain areas of the Central Mountain Range which are sparsely populated and often difficult to access making conventional ground-based investigations impractical over large areas. Geographic Information System combined with remote sensing data provides the ability to effectively analyse various risk factors over large areas or inaccessible areas to identify localities that have the potential to be at higher risk from the impact of natural disasters.