Washington – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that Hazus-MH MR5 has been released and is now available. Hazus-MH MR5 provides users with a streamlined and upgraded version of its world class methodology for estimating potential damages from natural disasters.
“Hazus has recently shifted to a six-month release schedule,” said Eric Berman, Hazus Program Manager. “Our goal is to consistently make model upgrades so that Hazus is faster, more accurate and less resource intensive to use.”
The MR5 release includes several improvements to the usability and functionality of the software, including:
• Support for the Windows 7 operating system is now available (Enterprise and Professional Versions). Windows XP SP3 will continue to be available.
• An auto-patching feature has been developed which will automatically check web servers for new Hazus patches and let users choose whether they would like to update to the new patch.
• Study regions can be created by HUC-8 watersheds (for a flood-only study region).
• Multiple user-defined flood depth grids with differing return periods can now be imported.
Federal, State and local government agencies and the private sector can order the latest version of Hazus free-of-charge on-line by visiting the FEMA Map Service Center (MSC) Web Store at msc.fema.gov. For more information about how to set up your account with the MSC and place your order please refer to the Ordering Hazus-MH flyer.
Hazus-MH is a multi-hazard risk assessment software tool that combines science, engineering, mathematical modeling, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to estimate the potential loss of life and property damage from natural hazards. Hazus technology allows users to model potential impacts from natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricane winds, and floods.
For more information about Hazus visit: www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/hazus.
Hazus-MH is Risk MAP’s Risk Assessment Tool; for more information about Risk MAP visit: http://www.fema.gov/plan/ffmm.