Local-Scale Disaster Risk Indicators: Applying the Disaster Risk Indicators in Brazil (Drib) Method to Understand Flood Risks in Brazil

Abstract

Global changes in our planet’s environment are both products and producers of changes at the local scale. It is at this scale that the impacts are perceived by the most vulnerable people. The objective of this chapter is to develop local-scale disaster risk indicators and provide support to local decision-making for reducing the risk of disasters caused by flood events. For that, the chosen study area was the urban area of the municipality of Macau, on the northern coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil. This area has a great diversity of ecosystems and is located in the transition between river, continental, and marine environments, where human activities and settlements have considerably changed the functioning of the different ecosystems. The Local DRIB (Disaster Risk Indicators in Brazil) Index is based on theoretical and methodological approaches from the disaster risk scientific community and draws on the understanding that disaster risk derives from a combination of physical hazards and vulnerabilities of exposed people. The case study presented in this chapter exposes the potential of a model that can contribute to the development of risk management and micro-disaster actions through the construction of a small integrated spatial network.