Research leader

Krishna Nadimpalli
Dr Krishna Nadimpalli Research Leader
Russell Hay Research Leader

Research team

Dr Itismita Mohanty Research Team
Abbas Rajabifard
Prof Abbas Rajabifard Research Team
Dr Mohsen Kalantari Research Team
Yogi Vidyattama
Dr Yogi Vidyattama Research Team
Mark Dunford Research Team
Con Charalambou Research Team

End User representatives

Leesa Carson
Leesa Carson End-User
Greg Howard
Greg Howard End-User
Elliott Simmons
Elliott Simmons End-User
Duncan McLuckie End-User
Ross Pritchard End-User
Myles Fairbairn
Myles Fairbairn End-User
Greg Buckley End-User

Exposure in disaster risk reduction describes what is at risk; including people, buildings, infrastructure, businesses, hazardous substances and primary industries. Exposure information comprises the details needed to support situational awareness at all levels of governance and in various phases of disaster management.

The severity of a disaster depends on how much impact it has on exposure. The scale of impact in turn depends on the decisions made as a part of disaster mitigation. Therefore, exposure information is a fundamental requirement for decision making in disaster mitigation.

This project addressed the data and knowledge gaps and requirements for disaster resilience, resource assessment, emergency management, risk mitigation policy and planning. It identified the fundamental data requirements and modelling framework to derive exposure information to enable a better understanding of the vulnerability of people, buildings and infrastructure.

The project is a significant step towards developing national exposure information capabilities in Australia. The framework will support impact assessments on people, economy, infrastructure and the environment, caused by natural hazards such as bushfires, floods, cyclones and earthquakes.

A number of nationally consistent frameworks were developed, which will help a diverse range of end-users. The frameworks include:

  • Built environment exposure – considers the attributes of assets to assess their vulnerability to natural hazards. The building exposure considers usage, type, structural system, number of storeys, size, age, attachments, replacement value and contents value. The infrastructure sectors considered are transportation, energy, communication, urban water supply, waste management, hazardous substances and major industries. The primary industries considered are agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining sectors.
  • Business and economics exposure – consists of business definitions, assets and activities which are deemed necessary for assessment of business continuity, disruption, resilience and recovery indicators in disaster management.

The study also reviewed current exposure information provision capabilities to identify key issues, needs, gaps, overlaps and deficiencies. An extensive literature review has been undertaken, along with stakeholder consultations to identify comprehensive list of information requirements. A survey with end-users identified significant gaps in the availability of existing data and the translation into meaningful information for evidence based disaster decision making. The built environment exposure information framework has been completed. To reduce the complexity, it categorises the information into three levels depending on the requirements of the user: policy and planning; response and recovery; research and analysis. The framework presents the fundamental characteristics of exposed assets to natural hazards as components, elements and attributes. The exposure components considered in the framework are buildings, people, businesses and infrastructure. 

Read the final report here.

Year Type Citation
2021 Report Charalambou, C., Dunford, M. & Bradley, J. Australian Exposure Information Platform enhancement project. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2021).
2018 Report Nadimpalli, K., Mohanty, I., Vidyattama, Y., Kalantari, M. & Rajabifard, A. Australian natural hazards exposure information framework: guidelines for national consistency and comprehensive information. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2018).
2018 Report Vidyattama, Y. Constructing a data reliability framework for the natural hazard exposure information system. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2018).
2017 Report Nadimpalli, K. Natural hazards exposure information framework: annual project report 2016-17. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2017 Report Nadimpalli, K., Mohanty, I., Kalantari, M. & Rajabifard, A. Business exposure information framework. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2016 Report Nadimpalli, K. Natural hazards exposure information framework: Annual project report 2015-2016. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2016).
2016 Report Nadimpalli, K. & Mohanty, I. Built environment exposure information framework. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2016).
2015 Presentation Nadimpalli, K. Natural hazard exposure information framework. (2015).
2015 Report Nadimpalli, K. Natural Hazards Exposure Information Modelling Framework Annual Report 2014. (2015).
2015 Report Nadimpalli, K. Natural hazard exposure information modelling framework: Annual project report 2014-2015. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2015).
Date Title Download Key Topics
21 Mar 2014 Natural hazard exposure information modelling framework PDF icon 696.97 KB (696.97 KB) modelling, multi-hazard, vulnerability
05 Dec 2014 Natural hazard exposure modelling framework PDF icon 519.75 KB (519.75 KB) exposure, framework, modelling
04 May 2016 Hardening buildings and infrastructure - cluster overview File 0 bytes (0 bytes) engineering, infrastructure, multi-hazard
24 Oct 2016 Natural hazard exposure information framework PDF icon 2.85 MB (2.85 MB) exposure, framework, modelling
30 Jan 2017 Strengthening infrastructure for natural hazard impacts PDF icon 358.94 KB (358.94 KB) earthquake, engineering, mitigation
07 Jul 2017 Towards a safer built environment PDF icon 8.24 MB (8.24 MB) engineering, infrastructure, multi-hazard
31 Oct 2017 Natural hazard exposure information framework - research utilisation project: Australian exposure information platform PDF icon 663.65 KB (663.65 KB) exposure, framework, resilience
31 Oct 2017 Built environment cluster PDF icon 713.22 KB (713.22 KB) engineering, mitigation, multi-hazard
17 Jun 2020 The Australian Exposure Information Platform: uncovering national exposure PDF icon 7.18 MB (7.18 MB) exposure, framework, resilience
31 Jul 2020 Uncovering exposure to natural hazards communities, emergency management, risk management
01 Dec 2020 Australian Exposure Information Platform (AEIP): uncovering national exposure exposure, framework, modelling
21 Dec 2020 Fire Australia Issue Four 2020 PDF icon 4.58 MB (4.58 MB) communication, fire, flood
18 Mar 2021 Australian Exposure Information Platform video (Geoscience Australia) File 0 bytes (0 bytes) exposure, framework, resilience
17 Sep 2021 Enhancements of the Australian Exposure Information Platform PDF icon 652.93 KB (652.93 KB) exposure, infrastructure, resilience
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Krishna Nadimpalli Conference Poster 2016
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This project will identify the data requirements and modelling framework to derive exposure information to...
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