The project aims to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, better understand and define hazards, and support a multi-hazard approach, through a light-touch review of the UNDRR-ISC Hazard Information Profiles (HIPs).
The Hazard Information Profiles (HIPs) published in 2021 by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the International Science Council (ISC) offer scientifically sound definitions for 302 hazards, supporting the multi-hazard approach of the Sendai Framework.
These definitions are organized into eight groups: Meteorological & Hydrological, Extraterrestrial, Geological, Environmental, Chemical, Biological, Technological, and Societal. They provide a common understanding that empowers governments and stakeholders to strategize and act effectively in risk reduction and management.
Recognized as “groundbreaking” in the 2023 Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework, the Hazard Information Profiles offer extensive information across sectors like disaster risk reduction planning, monitoring, training, and research. They are widely embraced by various stakeholders, fostering a comprehensive approach to disaster risk monitoring and planning.
Three years after their publication, the UNDRR and the ISC have initiated an update of the HIPs to ensure they continue to be usable, useful and used. This review will focus on adding new and relevant scientific information on specific hazards and the multi-hazard context.
Under the joint leadership of the UNDRR and the ISC, the second phase of the Hazard Information Profiles has been initiated in August 2023.
The review process, led by UNDRR and ISC, is guided by a Steering Group, bringing together experts from UN agencies, academia, private sectors and international organizations. The Steering Committee is supported by eight technical teams, each one dedicated to one of the hazard groups. A User Group has also been set up to provide feedback from a user point of view to ensure that the HIPs continue to be usable, useful and used by different stakeholders in a broad range of sectors.
The Steering group is chaired by professor Virginia Murray, head of Global Risk Reduction at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Professor Murray has a long experience in Disaster Risk Reduction and chaired the steering group in charge of the preparation of the UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition and Classification Review – Technical report released in July 2020 and of the Hazard Information Profiles – Hazard Information Profiles – Supplement to the July 2020 Technical Report released in April 2021.
The updated HIPs will be launched at the 8th session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva in June 2025.
This project stems from the partnership agreement between UNDRR and the ISC. In May 2019, the two organizations jointly established a Technical Working Group (TWG) to identify the full scope of hazards relevant to the Sendai Framework and the scientific definitions of these hazards, drawing on the internationally agreed UN definitions and available scientific literature.
Every year, extreme events and hazards of different origins lead to disasters affecting thousands of people and resulting in significant human, environmental and economic losses. Countries and communities are implementing initiatives to reduce disaster risks and plan for response and reconstruction.
The first step of these initiatives is to better understand the different hazards they face. A better understanding of hazards constitutes one of the four priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global framework approved by 187 countries in 2015.
To support this priority, an initiative was launched by scientists in May 2019, during the 6th session of the Global Platform for DRR, to address paragraph 24j of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: “To strengthen technical and scientific capacity to capitalize on and consolidate existing knowledge and to develop and apply methodologies and models to assess disaster risks, vulnerabilities and exposure to all hazards.”
The UNDRR-ISC Hazard Information Profiles, supplement to the technical report, explored the definition of a hazard as a “process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation” (UNGA, 2016: p.18, 2017) and provided guidance to the scope of issues that should be considered as part of holistic disaster risk management strategies.
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Hazard Information Profiles
This report is a Supplement to the UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition and Classification Review – Technical report released in July 2020. Aligned with the list of hazards published in the Technical Report, this Supplement comprises of a description of each of the 302 hazard information profiles (HIPs), developed using a consultative process by scientists and experts across the globe.
The revised HIPs will be launched at the Global Platform for DRR on 2-6 June 2025, together with a report to guide HIPs users. Additional publications are planned, with a focus on the multi-hazards approach in the HIPs.
This activity is supported with funding for international scientific collaboration on disaster risk reduction from the International Centre of Excellence of the International Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme hosted by the Academy of Sciences in Taipei. The project is also supported by in-kind contributions from partners, such as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
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