Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California

Natural Hazards Mitigation PlanCity of Glendale, CaliforniaSECTION 3:Section 3 – Risk AssessmentRISK ASSESSMENTWhat is a Risk Assessment?Risk assessment is the process of estimating or calculating the potential losses (in terms of life,injuries, and property and economic damage) resulting from a natural hazard event. To conductthis analysis, it is necessary to identify and understand the hazards that can impact thecommunity (hazard identification and hazard profiling), assess the vulnerability of the people,buildings and infrastructure that can be impacted by each hazard identified (vulnerabilityassessment and asset inventory), and estimate the potential losses (risk analysis). Each of thesetasks, as it pertains to the city of Glendale, is described further below:1) Hazard IdentificationThis is the description of the geographic extent, potential intensity and the probability ofoccurrence of a given hazard. Maps are frequently used to display hazard identificationdata. The city of Glendale and its residents can be impacted by earthquakes (and secondaryhazards triggered by earthquakes), storm flooding and debris flows, urban and wildlandfires, landslides, dam and water reservoir failures, strong winds (such as Santa Ana winds),tornadoes, and dangerous vectors, plants and animals. Man-made hazards that couldimpact the area include terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction, accidentalreleases of hazardous materials, aviation accidents, and civil unrest events. However, theCity has chosen to discuss only natural hazards in this document, and specifically thehazards of earthquakes, wildland fires, floods (storm flooding, debris flows and inundationdue to catastrophic failure of dams and water reservoirs), and landslides. These are thehazards with the potential to cause the most damage, in terms of losses, at the city. Each ofthese hazards will be described in detail in the following sections. The geographic extentof each of the identified hazards has been identified in the City’s Safety Element of theGeneral Plan using the most current data available, and the maps that accompany thatdocument have been included herein, throughout the text of the report, and in Appendix H(see list on Table 3.1 below).2) Profiling Hazard EventsThis process describes the causes and characteristics of each hazard, how it has affected thecity of Glendale in the past, and what part of Glendale's population, infrastructure, andenvironment has historically been vulnerable to each specific hazard. A profile of eachhazard discussed in this Plan is provided in Sections 6 through 9. Therefore, for adescription of the history of hazard-specific events, please see the appropriate hazardsection.3) Vulnerability Assessment/Inventorying AssetsThis is a combination of hazard identification with an inventory of the existing (or planned)property development(s) and population(s) exposed to a hazard. Critical facilities are ofparticular concern because these entities provide essential products and services to thegeneral public that are necessary to preserve the welfare and quality of life in Glendale andfulfill important public safety, emergency response, and/or disaster recovery functions.2006 PAGE 3 - 1