Abstract
Effective management of natural hazards requires the capability of cross-hazard evaluations. However, existing hazard magnitude scales cannot be easily adapted to evaluate sizes of events across different hazard types. Here, we propose a regression-based methodology with historical data on hazard impacts and magnitude indicators worldwide from 1900 to 2020 to derive an equivalent magnitude scale, called the Gardoni Scale after Professor Paolo Gardoni, to effectively quantify and compare sizes of events across twelve natural hazard types. Our results suggest that when compared on the Gardoni Scale, tsunami and drought disasters tend to have large magnitudes, while tornadoes are relatively small in size. We further propose hazard equivalency as a new area of research for cross-hazard evaluations of sizes and intensities of natural hazard events. Continuing efforts in this new area will strengthen guidance for resource allocation for hazard management, facilitate disaster communication, and enhance risk analysis within a multi-hazard context.
RISK ANALYSIS AND ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD MANAGEMENT
