Report updated Apr 3, 2026
Hazards and Population Mapper
v2.0Disaster risk managers, humanitarian response organizations, public health professionals, and journalists requiring rapid assessment of hazardous events.
What Is Hazards and Population Mapper?
Launched Mar 19, 2016
Updated Aug 2019
What does it look like?
What are the key features?
Visualizes active fires, earthquake alerts, and air pollution data in near real-time.
Calculates total population and land area within a user-defined circular radius on the map.
Displays locations of major dams and nuclear power plants with facility-specific details.
Sorts hazardous events and infrastructure by distance from the user's current location.
Calculates distance between the user's location and map points or between two arbitrary points.
What do users think? iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps or enhance existing ones. Still in beta, accuracy and relevancy get better every day. For informational purposes only.
Gathering public signals...
Sentiment analysis will be available once enough user reviews are collected.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
- Institutional credibility of NASA and Columbia University
- Unique Population Estimation Service (PES) utility
- Integration of real-time hazard data with socioeconomic layers
- Completely free and open access to scientific data
Cons
- Product is stale (last updated 2019)
- Limited to iOS platform only
- Coarse data resolution limits use for specific local response
- Low user engagement and rating volume
What is the market outlook?
Growth Opportunities
- Modernize UI/UX to capture users frustrated by legacy interface
- Develop an Android version for global humanitarian use
- Integrate real-time push notifications for hazard alerts
- Incorporate higher-resolution imagery and demographic data
Market Threats
- Technical obsolescence due to lack of OS compatibility updates
- Commercial GIS platforms integrating similar socioeconomic overlays
- Specialized hazard apps (e.g., fire/quake trackers) offering better real-time features
What are the key takeaways?
Hazards and Population Mapper is a divisive reference app that is completely free. With a 3.3/5 rating from 6 reviews, it receives mixed feedback from users.
Best for: Disaster risk managers, humanitarian response organizations, public health professionals, and journalists requiring rapid assessment of hazardous events.
How much does it cost?
Model: free
The app serves as a public service tool provided by NASA and Columbia University, prioritizing data accessibility over monetization.
iOS Version
2.0
Release Date
Mar 19, 2016
iOS Price
Free