Arua District in northwestern Uganda has changed significantly over the last few years, settling over 175,000 refugees fleeing from crises in South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The area is already prone to hazards, but with the rapidly growing population size and changing landscape, the risk to vulnerable populations is increasing. Yet the government and humanitarian organizations don’t have the information to keep people safe from these hazards, such as flooding, bush fires, and windstorms.

To help provide that crucial information, HOT collaborated with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister to develop the first-ever spatially-focused Risk Atlas of Arua District, containing maps, granular data, and analyses of the existing hazards, exposure, and vulnerabilities to communities in northwestern Uganda.

The project created 16 types of maps of Arua District, providing a multitude of information to improve disaster preparedness and response planning. The maps included details on rainfall distribution, population distribution, critical facilities (schools, health centers, markets, buildings, roads, police stations), community-reported hazards and multi-risk hazards, to name a few.

“This Arua risk atlas is the first of its kind in Uganda and is going to allow us to be able to understand and visualize risks and hazards at a more granular level.”
- Mr. Sentongo Bernard, GIS Analyst Office of the Prime Minister/National Emergency and Coordination Centre