Hazards U.S. (HAZUS) is a software program that is used to estimate losses from potential earthquakes, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in partnership with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Once the characteristics of a hypothetical or actual earthquake are entered, HAZUS will estimate intensity of ground shaking, number of buildings damaged, number of casualties, damage to transportation systems, disruption to electrical and water utilities, etc., and the estimated total economic loss. HAZUS uses a geographic information system (GIS) to display results.

The information below describes new features, improvements, and software compatibility of the latest version of the software (HAZUS99-SR2).

To order CD-ROM sets of the new version of HAZUS, print an order form at http://www.fema.gov/hazus/re_form.htm that can be faxed, or contact the FEMA distribution center at 1-800-480-2520.

For more information about HAZUS, training opportunities, and future developments (including flood and wind modules), go to http://www.fema.gov/hazus.

Overview of the new version of HAZUS:

HAZUS99-SR2 has several new features:

• An Advanced Engineering Building Module (AEBM) was added for analyzing damage and loss in individual buildings. HAZUS was modified to allow automated replacement of GBS capacity and fragility parameters with AEBM data, if desired.


• Outdoor casualty estimation capability was added to the Casualty Module. In addition, details for casualty estimates in schools are hotels available.


• Metadata is provided for the inventory databases. The metadata can be accessed or modified using the right mouse button when the cursor is positioned over the database under HAZUS/Inventory.

In addition to these new features, many improvements and fixes to the software have been made:

Inventory

• Fault parameter settings in the HAZUS scenario builder can now be stored and recalled correctly.


• A date/time stamp associated with updating the soil and other maps was fixed.


• A problem with the automated updating of the "Dollar Exposure" inventory databases was corrected.


• The aggregation routine for "line-segment" type data was modified to copy all the inventory values from the default data.

• The US fault file was updated to be consistent with the latest USGS and CDMG data.


• The hazard module was modified to include normal faults.


• The earthquake duration/magnitude relationship was revised.


• Ground failure probability calculations were fixed.


• Distance to a non-vertical 3-D fault plane can be calculated.


• Several problems with the 3D fault rupture algorithm were corrected.

• The number and distribution of ignitions in the fire following earthquake model was corrected.


• The algorithm for computing direct economic loss was modified to improve the accuracy of the loss computations for the specific building types.


• The Indirect Economic Loss module was modified to import the new IMPLAN data format.

• The report-writing engine in HAZUS was updated to Crystal Reports 8.5. This upgrade includes modifications to the report export functionality.


• A new quick assessment summary report (QAR) was developed based on the experience gained during the Nisqually earthquake.

• HAZUS was modified to be backwardly compatible with HAZUS99-SR1.


• File handler leak prevention was added.


• The "Calculate Statistics" functionality was fixed for the ArcView version.


• A series of segmentation violation problems were corrected in the ArcView version of HAZUS99-SR2 to improve stability.

With the new version, HAZUS is compatiable with the following operating systems and GIS platforms:

• Operating Systems


Windows2000 (SP2 Version)
WindowsNT (SP6 Version)
Windows98 (SE Version)

• GIS Platforms


MapInfo 6.0 and 6.5
ArcView 3.2a