New hazard-mapping tool to help safeguard Nepal from natural disasters

Professor Neil Glasser and Dr Morgan Jones from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University

A new online tool could help safeguard communities in Nepal from the dangers posed by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and landslides.

Nepal’s unique geography and climate mean it is more vulnerable than most countries to natural disasters.

These include heavy monsoons, active tectonic plate activity, remote locations and steep mountain terrain in the Himalayas.

Now, for the first time, the natural hazards facing the country have been meticulously mapped by researchers at Aberystwyth University and brought together in a new multi-hazard mapping tool.

‘MiMapper’ is a free, interactive and user-friendly mapping tool which has been specifically designed for Nepal’s complex landscape.

Hosted on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, MiMapper integrates a comprehensive suite of geospatial datasets for assessing and visualising natural hazards, including landslides, flooding and earthquakes.

It was designed, produced and developed by Cat Price, Dr Morgan Jones, Professor Neil Glasser and Professor John Reynolds from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University.

Professor Neil Glasser, Pro Vice-Chancellor in the Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, said: “Nepal’s unique geography and climate make it particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. The country’s steep northern terrain, active tectonics, monsoon climate and glacial lakes all combine to increase the risks to communities and infrastructure from natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods, often referred to as GLOFs.

“This new tool will enable planners to make a first-pass assessment of how multiple hazards might interact in one location and we hope it will empower stakeholders to identify areas most at risk and take mitigating action. This would support effective disaster preparedness and efforts to build resilience in a country so prone to natural disasters.”

Before finalising the mapping tool, scientists from Aberystwyth visited Nepal in November 2024 to hold a workshop where the software was tested with local planning officers, disaster management officials and researchers.

Dr Morgan Jones, a lecturer in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Aberystwyth, said: “MiMapper has been designed with both technical and non-technical users in mind and we used feedback from our workshops in Nepal to test and refine its usability. It is the first time a multi-hazard mapping tool has been developed for the country as a whole and it offers seamless access to pre-processed hazard data as well as visual tools to analyse environmental risks for communities and infrastructure.

“The software can be used by urban planners, disaster management officials and researchers, and will equip them with initial information for mitigating or preventing hazard impacts in Nepal, thereby helping to safeguard the people who live in those areas.”

The project was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (now known as Medr), with support from the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as part of a programme to support official development assistance activities within Welsh universities.

The MiMapper tool can be accessed for free on Google Earth Engine and there is a short tutorial on how to use the resource on Aberystwyth University’s website: aber.ac.uk/mimapper.

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