Disaster Mapping Prioritization in OSM
One of the primary motivations for the Open Mapping Hub Asia-Pacific to increase the quantity and quality of OpenStreetMap (OSM) data in the region is the region's high exposure to multiple types of hazards.
Apart from assisting response efforts following a disaster event by providing access to critical geospatial information, the hub aims to ensure that OSM data is already available in high-risk areas, even before a disaster occurs, to be used in critical anticipatory action such as developing early warning systems and mitigation plans. It is critical to have a systematic method for determining the OSM mapping requirements in these disaster hotspots.
Although some tools separately assess the Completeness of OSM Data and the Disaster Risk Level of a location, a new tool that combines these assessments is required to highlight the areas that should be prioritized for mapping in OSM.
The Open Mapping Hub Asia-Pacific created a data-driven method for determining which areas in OSM disaster mapping should be prioritized. The resulting method is deployed as a QGIS plug-in and distributed to OSM communities for offline assessments to identify disaster-prone areas that have not yet been mapped in OSM.
