B. Gautam¹ , N. Zhurina²

¹Georgetown University Law School
²Trade Promotion Office of Peru to the Russian Federation

Abstract:

Our project seeks to explore how the IDC can be incorporated into disaster preparedness laws, to promote safer and more sustainable cities in furtherance of SDG 11. Noting that disasters disproportionately affect slums, we will also explore how advocates for slum upgrading and affected communities can utilize IDC data as evidence to advocate for more inclusive preparedness laws. First, we will determine whether disaster preparedness laws in affected and at-risk countries include a component of risk detection and early warning systems. We will then assess how the IDC can serve as a resource to strengthen risk detection and early warning provisions—for example, by utilizing moment magnitude estimates to predict disaster risk. Based on this assessment, we will propose ways to explicitly reference the IDC in disaster preparedness laws through model legislation. As an attachment to our model law, we will include recommendations on how slum upgrading advocates and affected communities can utilize IDC data in urban risk assessments, to advocate for more inclusive preparedness laws. Specifically, we will explore how seismic hazard maps, combined with slum mapping by organizations like the World Bank and UN, can better assess risk.