Lessons learned developing a regionally-consistent exposure database for Central Asia

The Central Asia region encompasses a wide variety of climatic areas and geological settings. It is therefore prone to multiple hazards which can affect different parts of the region, including trans-boundary areas. Earthquakes, in particular, are a known threat for the region, and caused substantial damages and financial losses in the past. Here, we develop the first high-resolution regionally-consistent exposure database for Central Asia, encompassing multiple asset types including residential and non-residential buildings and transportation. The dataset was assembled using both global and regional-scale data and country-based information provided by local experts and authorities (e.g. building census, national statistics). This information includes also reconstruction costs, which are usually difficult to retrieve at country level, and images for different building typologies, which could serve as input for the development of image-based classification systems. Country-based data was collected interacting with local experts, and was supported by 5 workshops, one for each country, which fostered data sharing and knowledge transfer. Finally, the residential buildings exposure layer was used as a basis to estimate the projected exposure in 2080 under different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. The lessons learned while developing the exposure database for Central Asia will be discussed in order to provide insights for developing similar datasets in other areas.