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Hazus

FEMA's Methodology for Estimating Potential Losses from Disasters

HAZUS-MH: Earthquake, Wind, Flood

Hazus is a nationally applicable standardized methodology that contains models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Hazus uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to estimate physical, economic, and social impacts of disasters. It graphically illustrates the limits of identified high-risk locations due to earthquake, hurricane, and floods. Users can then visualize the spatial relationships between populations and other more permanently fixed geographic assets or resources for the specific hazard being modeled, a crucial function in the pre-disaster planning process.

Hazus is used for mitigation and recovery as well as preparedness and response. Government planners, GIS specialists, and emergency managers use Hazus to determine losses and the most beneficial mitigation approaches to take to minimize them. Hazus can be used in the assessment step in the mitigation planning process, which is the foundation for a community's long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. Being ready will aid in recovery after a natural disaster.

As the number of Hazus users continues to increase, so do the types of uses. Increasingly, Hazus is being used by states and communities in support of risk assessments perform economic loss scenarios for certain natural hazards and rapid needs assessments during hurricane response. Other communities are using Hazus to increase hazard awareness. Successful uses of Hazus are profiled under Mitigation and Recovery and Preparedness and Response. Emergency managers have also found these map templates helpful to support rapid impact assessment and disaster response.

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2.1 Software Release

We are pleased to announce that Hazus-MH 2.1 is now available! The 2.1 release includes many improvements to the usability and functionality of the software including:

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In the News

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Hazus-MH Software

Hazus software is a powerful risk assessment methodology for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricane, and earthquakes. In Hazus, current scientific and engineering knowledge is coupled with the latest geographic information systems (GIS) technology to produce estimates of hazard-related damage before, or after, a disaster occurs.

Potential loss estimates analyzed in Hazus include:

Hazus software releases and related downloads are available on the Resources page.

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Technical Support

Technical assistance is available via the Hazus Help Desk at https://support.hazus.us. If you do not yet have login credentials for https://support.hazus.us please send an e-mail to helpdesk@support.hazus.us to gain access. The Help Desk is available 24/7.

Users can also call the FEMA Map Information Exchange (FMIX) at 1-877-283-8789 as an alternative means of support. The FMIX gives Hazus users the ability to speak directly with a support representative during normal business hours to follow up on Help Desk tickets, receive assistance in using the Help Desk or get answers to general questions about Hazus.

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Ordering Hazus-MH

Federal, State and local government agencies and the private sector can order the latest version of Hazus free-of-charge on-line by visiting the FEMA Map Service Center (MSC) Web Store at msc.fema.gov. For more information about how to set up your account with the MSC and place your order, please refer to the Hazus-MH Overview flyer.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, 14-Mar-2012 15:30:56 EDT

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